


Oracle

by Hermaline75



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Anal Sex, King Thor, M/M, Psychic Abilities, Sex Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:07:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 32,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24428473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hermaline75/pseuds/Hermaline75
Summary: King Thor successfully captures a mysterious man who claims to be able to see the future.But there's a price to pay for such gifts.
Relationships: Loki/Thor
Comments: 557
Kudos: 378





	1. Chapter 1

"Your Majesty," Sif said, striding into the hall in the middle of Thor's court, bowing low. "I believe we found what you were looking for."

She looked a little worse for wear. It had been something of a fool's errand, a wild goose chase, something even Thor hadn't expected to yield results. She had a scratch on her face, nothing that wouldn't heal, but nonetheless. It looked like the work of a fingernail rather than a weapon.

It was unwise to leave court so unceremoniously, but Thor couldn't resist, signalling to one of his stewards to take over. He didn't much care which one. Any of them should be suitably competent and they'd simply delay anything necessary until his return.

He fell into step with Sif, heading down towards the dungeons.

"Where was he?" he asked.

"The north, as they said. A cave above an ordinary village. The locals knew, pointed us in the right direction. They seemed quite glad to see the back of him, to be honest. I'm not convinced by him though."

"No?"

Generally, Thor trusted her judgement. She was one of his most decorated generals for a reason. It was why he'd trusted her with such a mission, the kind of thing that others might think brought his sanity into question.

"Well, think about it," she said. "If he knows the future, if he can see events before they happen, why didn't he see us coming?"

Hmm. Maybe that was a good point.

She took him down into the lowest parts of the palace, past the guards posted at the otherwise empty dungeons, to the biggest cell.

Thor wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the waiting figure disquieted him somewhat. Thin and pale, like some creature of the depths, like he hadn't seen sunlight in some time, wearing a robe of thin, brown cloth, sitting cross-legged upon the floor.

Bright eyes gazed back at his look, challenging, daring him to...

Well, quite what, he didn't know.

"They say you can see the future," Thor said. No need for niceties here.

A tilted head, weighing him up.

"They're correct. When circumstances are right."

Pursing his lips, Thor narrowed his eyes, wondering. Was it true or was it some kind of trick, something that might fool the country folk?

"Show me."

There was a clinking sound, the rattle of chains as he got up, approaching the bars of the cell. Sif's hand flew to the pommel of her sword, cautious.

Long, slender fingers wrapped around the metal, slowly, one by one, his nails stained and dirty. Bloodstained. Sif's blood, probably.

"Alas," the man sighed. "I cannot simply perform on command like a dog. I require... assistance. I have to be in the right state."

"And what state is that?"

A shrug, a smile.

"Send away your guard and I might tell you."

Thor looked him over, trying to decide whether or not to indulge him. If he tried anything, any violence, Thor was sure he could handle him. He was so thin, skin and bones really, looking like a twig that would snap easily. He would hardly manage to get through the bars for one thing.

"Leave us," he said.

Sif didn't move immediately.

"Your Majesty, I must protest..." she began.

"It will be well. Leave us. I'll shout if anything happens."

The man watched her go, smirking, his eyes sliding back to meet Thor's afterwards.

"Well? What state do you require? I want you to read my future."

That smirk wasn't leaving his face, idly running the backs of his fingers up and down the bars, letting the chain of his restraints brush against it with a harsh ringing sound.

"I'm not sure you'll be so keen when you know what I need," he said.

"Try me and find out."

A little chuckle, a bitten lip, leaning forward to murmur a secret in a low voice.

"I can tell someone's future only when they take me to the heights of sexual ecstasy. Otherwise, I'm afraid I cannot see any further than yourself."

Thor blinked at him and scoffed.

"You must think me a fool," he said. "What is this? An attempt to humiliate me?"

Another shrug.

"I told you you might not like it."

Properly appraising, Thor looked over his body, what he could see of it anyway. The man was tall, not entirely unattractive. There was a spark to him for one thing, a... A sense of fun, even if it seemed wicked.

He had taken less appealing people to his bed.

"Turn around," he said.

This was a dangerous game, they both clearly knew it, and yet the man obediently took a step back, turning in a slow circle.

"Bend over."

Even through the robe, there was a shape there that he rather liked the look of... In spite of himself, Thor swallowed hard, trying not to get carried away.

"Show me."

The chains clinked as the man pulled up his robe, revealing long shapely legs and then the curve of a behind that had Thor's nostrils flaring at the very idea of touching.

"Hmph," he said, trying to affect indifference. "Well, since you're offering... And you are offering, are you?"

The man stood up, dusting himself down.

"I feel we have something of a mutual curiosity," he said. "I'd like to explore that."

Thor still wasn't convinced, but he couldn't deny being tempted. If nothing else, he'd have a pleasurable evening.

He found Sif loitering by the dungeon door, gnawing on her thumbnail, pitching his voice loud enough for the man to hear him.

"Feed him, give him a bath and then have him sent to my chambers," he said. "And leave the chains on."


	2. Chapter 2

Thor didn't have dinner at his usual time. He preferred to work up an appetite and it seemed he would have quite the opportunity. Still, he ensured all his duties for the day were complete before heading for his private rooms, anticipation already coursing through his veins.

It had been a while since he'd last taken someone to his bed, let alone anyone who promised to be this much fun.

He nodded to the guards outside, chosen for their discretion, and stepped inside.

The man was chained to one of his chairs, the key teasingly out of his reach on the table. He looked bored more than anything, but he also looked a lot better than he had. Clean hair, for one thing, long dark waves of it.

"I trust you enjoyed your meal," Thor said softly, beginning his approach.

"Very much so."

His eyes were on Thor's hands as he picked up the key, twirling it a little.

"Can I release you from your bonds or is that a bad idea?"

The man shrugged, crossing his legs in such a way that revealed so much and yet not nearly enough for Thor's liking.

"I don't know," he said. "I suppose it depends how much you trust me, or how easily you think you would best me in a fight. Besides, I rather got the impression that you found the idea of chaining me to your bed exciting."

Maybe that was so.

"But if my role here is to... What was it again? Transport you to great heights? Well, to do that, I should know if you find such a thing distasteful."

"Mm. Oh, no, I think I'd rather like it. Many have tested me in the past, but I've never had a lord before."

Thor reached out calmly, taking the man's jaw in his hand, running a thumb over thin lips thoughtfully.

"I'm a king, actually," he said.

The kiss didn't really deserve such a name. He was plundering, taking what he wanted, tasting this strange stranger, trying to shake him, undoing one of the cuffs only so as to be able to free him from the chair.

And his clothes, for that matter, if you could call them that. Still, what his robe lacked in elegance was made up for in ease of access, simply pulled off and tossed aside.

For a moment, Thor simply stared at him. Thin, very thin, in need of some more meals most likely, but still enticing, crossing the floor towards the bed with an unusual dignity and letting Thor loop the chain around one of the posts. Beautiful. Trapped.

And, if Thor wasn't mistaken, already growing hot. There was a hint of colour in those haughty cheeks, a distinct plumpness to his cock, maybe a darkening of his eyes.

"Eager?" he asked.

"You seem confident. Perhaps it bodes well."

"You're the one who can see the future."

"Not yet I can't."

Slick. That's what he needed, something to ease things along. Fortunately, he had some in the bathing chamber, something for helping sore muscles, undoing his shirt and noting the way the man stared at him, his tongue darting out to lick his lips.

Soothsayer or not, Thor felt they were both going to enjoy this.

"Come on," he said, nudging the man's thigh with an open palm. "Open up."

The glare couldn't hide how quickly he spread his legs, keen, wanting, sighing a little as Thor ran a wet finger around his entrance. He seemed as experienced as he'd hinted, tilting his hips, letting Thor slip in up to the first knuckle without much effort.

Oh, it had been so long... Thor already felt his excitement building, how soon he would be enjoying this wanton stranger, eagerly slicking up a second finger and pushing inside, getting a slight hiss.

"Too much?"

"Too fast. Have a little more patience, your majesty."

He managed to put so much disdain into the title. Thor deliberately twisted his wrist, searching for just the right place, knowing from the clench of muscles when he'd found it.

Looking up to his face, Thor found it carefully schooled into indifference, a light shrug. Daring him to do better.

But there was no denying that shuddering breath, a clear sign of beginning to find more pleasure here, nor the way that his cock was beginning to leak even.

Thor parted his fingers, impatient indeed, trying to prepare him quickly. His blood was hot, wanting to push this intoxicating game all the further.

"Do you think you're ready?" he asked.

"Depends. I don't know what I'm working with yet. Maybe I was ready minutes ago."

Hmm. Thor struggled a little with his wrong hand but managed to undo his breeches, briefly backing off to remove them, letting his erection spring free.

"Oh," the man said, his fingers tensing in the sheets. "Perhaps... Perhaps a little more oil."

Thor smiled at him, gently stroking his cock once or twice. He knew he wasn't the biggest in the world, but he knew he was far from the smallest too.

"I think you're right," he said, being generous with it.

But he couldn't resist for long, shuffling forward and hauling the man towards him, brushing his skin with the head of his cock.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Does it matter?"

"I want to know."

The man tilted his head again, trying to pretend he wasn't practically panting with desire.

"How about ravishing first, names afterwards?" he said.

What a strange man...

"Well," Thor said. "If you insist."


	3. Chapter 3

The man gasped and squirmed as Thor pushed into him, slowly, really enjoying the sensation of being engulfed, little by little.

He took a moment to savour it before setting out to impress. He wasn't going to be made a fool, he wasn't going to leave any talk of "unsatisfied" possible. He'd promised something spectacular and he intended to deliver.

Gentle at first, letting him adjust to the feeling of being full and then he set a steady pace, a tempo he knew he could keep up for some time, minutes and minutes if necessary.

Something about the high sound that came out of the stranger's throat made him think that perhaps it wouldn't be.

He'd even indulge in a little passion, running his hands eagerly over ribs and thin thighs, up to the tight muscles of his arms, laying kisses that were barely short of bites up the man's neck, listening to his panting breath growing faster and faster.

"Seeing anything?"

"Ah! Ah, not yet, keep going..."

As if he needed the encouragement. He sat up fully, gripping hips firmly - not enough to bruise, but enough - and watched the man's chest heave, the chains rattling as he automatically tried to reach for his cock.

"Want something?" Thor panted.

"Mmm..."

Maybe another time, he could see just how close he could get...

But not now. He was being generous. And he wanted to know just how these supposed powers would manifest.

"I didn't quite catch that," he said, giving a harder thrust, feeling the tight clench of muscles around his length.

"Please..."

The reaction had him grinning, his ego well and truly stoked at least, wrapping a hand around the man's cock and varying the speed and intensity of his strokes, teasing, rubbing his thumb over the head, squeezing lightly, enjoying the heat beneath his skin.

And then he realised the man's eyes had started to roll back into his head, like he was seized with something, his upper body convulsing, disconcerting, frightening even.

"Hey," Thor said. "Hey, are you alright?"

His attempt to move back was halted by strong legs wrapping tightly around him, a constant rolling of hips.

And then the man began to speak, quickly, his voice full of breaths and gasps.

"You will be seen by a petitioner. He will ask for money to repair storm damage. He intends to ask for more than necessary and keep the rest for himse... Mm!"

Had Thor even realised that his wrist had kept moving? The feeling of spend on his hand shook him, released at last, finally able to move back. Despite himself, despite his bravado, he was deeply unnerved, his ardour cooled by fright.

Meanwhile, his supposed psychic seemed unperturbed, stretching languorously, looking every inch satisfied and boneless.

"Don't you want to finish?" he asked. "I don't mind. I can take it."

Thor was too concerned, the energy of unsated lust sitting uneasily beneath his skin.

"What were you talking about? What man? What storm damage?"

The stranger shrugged, shaking his head.

"I don't know. I only see things. I can't interpret them further. A man will come, that's all I know."

"When?"

"No idea. Within the week, probably. Usually I only see ahead a day or two. He has sand-coloured hair, he is aged in his middle years and he will try to cheat you. I know nothing more."

Could it be real? Could he be telling the truth? Thor really wasn't sure. He couldn't be sure unless he was, indeed, petitioned by such a man for such a reason.

"Please, at least let me use my hand," the man said, chains clinking as he reached out. "I got what I wanted, after all."

"No. No, I'm... No."

A grin, a pleased little shuffle as Thor turned away.

"Ah. You're scared of me. Don't worry, it's perfectly normal. Why else do you think I was living in a cave? People don't like someone telling on them before they've even done the deed."

Thor frowned at him over his shoulder, extremely uneasy.

"When did you find out about your gift?" he asked.

"When I was a young man and first found a young woman willing to spend some time with me. She was scared too when I told her in the throes that her old, supposedly barren sow would bear piglets. But sure enough, within the week..."

Thor still wasn't fully convinced that any of this was true. But if it was, then he had a potentially extremely useful person here.

Getting up, he fetched the key and undid the cuffs, putting on a robe. Rather more plush and decent than the stranger's.

"You can wash yourself in my basin and I'll have a room prepared for you. If what you have predicted comes true within the week, then perhaps I have a proposition for you."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then I'll have you dumped back where we found you. Or anywhere else you wish to be dumped."

A smile, rubbing his wrists a little where they were lightly chafed.

"I still haven't told you my name, your majesty."

The desire to know had somehow been shaken from him, but he knew he ought to ask.

"What is it?"

"Loki."

Hmm. Well, whichever way this went, he felt that name would live in his mind for some time.

He made sure the guards locked the door of the guest chamber. Just in case.


	4. Chapter 4

The words haunted him in a way they had no right to. He heard petitions every day. It was normal. Anyone with a little intelligence - which evidently Loki had if he was able to keep up such a ruse as this - would know that and therefore be able to string a story.

Still, when he woke, hungry after forgetting to actually eat dinner, and opened his curtains to find the wet ground and tattered trees of a mildly severe rainstorm, he couldn't help the shiver that ran up his spine.

But then again, he'd slept through it. How bad could it have been? Damage seemed unlikely.

He had food sent up for Loki, Sif eyeing him with some concern. Maybe he was visibly shaken up.

"Is it true, then?" she asked as she accompanied him to the morning's court session. "Can he really tell the future?"

"I intend to find out, though I may have to wait a few days. The rain last night - you don't think it would have damaged anything, do you?"

"Shouldn't think so. Though it may have hit the coast harder than it did here. These things often do."

"Mm. Yes."

Every sandy-haired man was a potential revelation. And every time that they weren't and a little tension eased, Thor wasn't sure whether he was disappointed or relieved.

And then...

"Your Majesty, one of the lords of the western sea begs an audience."

Sand-coloured hair. Living on the coast, where there may have been damage. Thor's heart pounded in his chest, clearing his throat and trying to keep his voice steady and calm.

"Of course. Let him speak."

The man bowed deep, very showy and elegant.

"Your Majesty, I come with the grave news that the roof of one of our defensive towers has been torn off by last night's wind. I come to beg for funds for its repair."

Thor's stomach dropped and then rose, and then settled somewhere in the middle. There was no way Loki could have had prior knowledge of this, no possibility, and he'd known this would happen right down to the hair colour, so that meant...

"Your Majesty?"

"Uh... Uh, I will have builders sent to perform the work. Steward, please organise that."

"Oh, that's not necessary," Sand-hair said. "With the necessary funds, I'm sure I can..."

"My builders are the most skilled in the land. It is no trouble."

His face had fallen somewhat. His plan was thwarted. Because Thor had been forewarned of it.

This was such an advantage.

He left for the midday meal early, asking for two plates to be taken to his room, going to fetch Loki himself.

He was flopped on a couch, gazing up at the ceiling, hands folded beneath his head, the very picture of boredom.

"You. Come with me."

Raised eyebrows.

"I take it the man I foretold duly arrived?"

"Now!"

A chuckle, but he did get up, obediently following Thor back along the corridor and into his chambers.

"Sit," Thor said. "Eat."

A moment's pause and he did just that, seeming amused more than anything. Thor paced for a moment before throwing himself into the other chair, frowning over the eggs they'd been given.

"Your gift," he said. "Tell me about it. Everything."

A shrug.

"If I reach climax by another's hand, I see a snapshot of their future and the circumstances surrounding that."

"So you cannot spy? You cannot... see a specific person?"

"Only if they are the lucky one sharing my bed."

Thor remembered to eat, taking a hefty mouthful, thinking.

"But the man down there, you knew he would lie to me. How?"

"I can't really explain it. It's a... feeling. A sense that something was being hidden from you. You would have seen it yourself without me, but maybe not have noticed it. Can I have some ale?"

A word to the guard outside the door was all that was needed for a flagon to be brought up.

"You didn't see inside my head," Thor said thoughtfully. "Nor his, but you inferred that he was lying. You could have been wrong."

"Perhaps. I don't think I was, though. Do you think I was wrong?"

Thor wasn't sure. Maybe. And though he'd thought the man reacted in a way that suggested that, the idea had already been planted in his mind.

Still, no harm done either way. And this power had... potential.

"How far can you see? Can you... control it, can you control what you see? How far?"

Loki laughed.

"I have absolutely no idea. Most people try it once and then grow too frightened of the knowledge. I've never tried to control it."

Even if he couldn't, even if he just got some inkling of the days to come, that would be so useful.

"I have a proposition for you."

In those bright eyes, he could see the intrigue. The curiosity.

"I'm listening."

"Move here to the palace. Work for me - only for me - and I'll give you a life of luxury and plenty."

The laugh wasn't entirely unexpected. They had quickly fallen into a cycle of teasing one another, pushing, needling.

"I see," Loki said, already on his final forkful of eggs. "You want me to stay here and be your whore."

Despite his pride, Thor felt blood fly to his cheeks.

"I want you to tell the future for me."

"But you know what I require for that."

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"Oh, I bet you are..."

Thor watched him for a moment. The thinness. The ragged clothes. How eagerly he was devouring even simple food and weak beer.

"How did you like your bed last night?" he asked. "Eiderdown. Rather more comfortable than a cave, I expect. Hot water on demand. Warmth. Comfort. Wine."

"Books?"

Ah. He had him.

"I can get you books."

There was a brief pause.

"I'd be willing to stay with you for a while. But that doesn't necessarily mean forever."

Thor smiled at him. As if he'd ever want to leave.


	5. Chapter 5

Within months, Thor had a beautifully adorned shadow who followed him almost everywhere. Not that Loki was paying attention most of the time. He always had a book with him, for one thing, and would usually be reading even when he sat by Thor's side in court.

And the jewellery...

Whispers followed him, Thor knew. A male companion, certainly not an advisor as far as anyone knew, a stranger from no one knew where, wearing rings on his fingers and hoops in his ears, getting the sort of gifts better suited to a consort. They would consult together in silent looks and touches of the shoulder, a nod or a shake of the head apparently conveying a great deal.

Thor's insight suddenly... It bordered on witchcraft. Most days, there was something, some little fact he could not have known, some issue he had somehow preempted. People found it disconcerting and often that suited Thor well. Let them believe that he knew all and even treacherous thoughts might be banished.

Only Sif knew the truth and evidently it disquieted her. She didn't like to talk to him when Loki was present, which was odd since surely it was what he saw when not in the same room that was the concern.

Or maybe she just didn't like him.

Thor, meanwhile, was - for want of a better term - experimenting on his new friend. Learning all about him.

Loki could only experience his visions by another's hand. Thor had him try alone, but he merely spilled like any other man, asking Thor if he'd enjoyed the show.

He had, but that was besides the point.

However, they discovered that he was able to glean them from any contact. Hand, mouth, more than that, it didn't especially seem to matter.

And Thor was learning a lot. He usually knew exactly what at least one person in court was going to ask of him. But he wanted more. Further into the future, more information.

He couldn't work out how to get it. The visions seemed random, sometimes only a few hours ahead, sometimes up to a week. He never knew how distant it had been until the event happened. There seemed no way to tell. No way to predict that, at least.

But Thor had never been easily satisfied. Imagine the power if he knew not only what would happen but also when...

He started trying to take notes. Tried to work out if there was a pattern.

If there was, he had difficulty spotting it. He had a theory that perhaps intensity caused a longer vision, but it was the time of events that he was more interested in.

"What did the weather look like?" he asked after Loki had foreseen the arrival of a messenger from a neighbouring kingdom.

Loki stretched, showing off his nudity almost. Thor still found the visions strange, any desire he felt cooled by them, and so of course Loki delighted in stoking his sexual frustration by looking very enticing indeed.

"I don't know. It was bright, I suppose. Not overly sunny. Why?"

"I'm trying to work out when this woman will arrive that I might prepare better."

"You know she is coming. Isn't that enough?"

"But she may require a meal. I would prefer to be able to tell the cooks."

"You don't know what message she will bring though," Loki said, twirling a lock of his hair around one finger. "It might be a declaration of war for all you know."

"It might. But even then, I would feed their servant. It is unlikely to be their fault that their master is being aggressive."

"Well, next time I will try to pay more attention to the clouds, though I doubt it will help much."

It was about four days before the woman arrived, and she was not a messenger at all. She carried a message, yes, but that was not her main role. It was a message of her own.

She was requesting his help.


	6. Chapter 6

When the woman entered, clearly exhausted from a long journey, tears in clothes that might once have been a uniform, Thor touched Loki's shoulder with a degree of urgency. He was fairly confident that it must be her, but he liked to be sure.

Loki glanced up and nodded, taking an uncharacteristic pause before turning back to his book.

"Speak," Thor said. "What message do you bring?"

The guards that had been flanking her suspiciously moved back, less concerned due to his welcome but only a little. One false move and they wouldn't hesitate to strike her down.

She slumped slightly and then dropped into a crouch.

"Your Majesty, I have travelled many days from Sakaar. I beg to make a request of your kindness."

That hadn't been what Thor expected. Her voice was dry, like throughout her long jourmey, she hadn't so much as stopped to eat or drink. She was running from something.

"We will retire to my private office to hear this plea," Thor said. "Would you like some ale?"

She looked up at him in a degree of surprise.

"Would I... be allowed wine, your majesty?"

"Certainly."

He asked for food too, even just bread and honey. She clearly needed it.

Without asking, Loki came with them. Thor wouldn't try to stop him. After all, if he knew everything that transpired here, it might help with his interpretation of his visions should any others be relevant.

The woman was jumpy, her eyes furtive and always moving. She put Thor in mind of a cornered fox, a predator turned prey somehow, a creature that might flee or bite on instinct.

When the tray was brought, she ate ravenously, gulped wine so fast that it made her cough. Loki sipped, watching her, waiting for Thor to speak.

"This request," he said once he thought she'd at least slaked her basic thirst. "What is it?"

"I seek shelter for myself and some others."

"Why?"

"I have heard that you are a kind and fair man who might aid those in need."

"No, I meant why do you need this shelter?"

She hesitated for a moment or two and then turned over her hand, palm upwards, a faint glow emanating from it. It made the shadows on her face all the more evident. He wasn't sure how she was doing it. Some kind of trained firefly perhaps.

"Hm. Interesting trick," Thor said.

"Not a trick. A power."

Thor scoffed.

"If you're trying to frighten me with talk of magic, it won't work."

She closed her fist again, the light vanishing, running her hands through tightly plaited hair.

"We thought you might be sympathetic. There are... rumours."

"Are there now?"

"You didn't answer his question. Why exactly would you need shelter?" Loki asked. "Are you in some kind of danger?"

She looked at him with a degree of concern. Unsure whether to trust him or what rank he held.

"The duke of Sakaar, the Grand Master, is very curious about people like me. He wants to understand how we function."

Thor shrugged. He knew that impulse after all. He wanted to know how Loki's gift worked. It was only natural for any ruler to want to understand the capabilities of their people.

"I imagine that you would be a useful person to have around," he said. "Candles are expensive after all."

He still wasn't convinced that this wasn't an elaborate theatre trick. People could not spirit light to their palms. It was impossible.

Then again, people couldn't generally see the future either...

"People have... vanished," she said. "We believe he may be performing experiments on them. Cutting them up. Alive."

Hmm. Alright, maybe that was a good reason to run, to seek help. Thor still wasn't sure he believed her though. And interfering with other lands was tricky.

"Do you have any evidence for this claim?" he asked. "Besides rumours?"

"Bodies."

"And you've seen these bodies?"

She hesitated.

"Good friends that I trust have seen them."

Ah...

"If you want to come and live here, work, pay your taxes and live peacefully, I have no quarrel with that," he said. "You don't have to invent a story to gain permission."

"I don't want permission, I want protection. I was a member of his guard. I may be in danger from the moment he realises I am gone, if he suspects that I am what I am. Please, help me."

Oh, this was dangerous...

"May I speak with you alone in the corridor, your majesty?" Loki asked suddenly.

Somehow, Thor felt he didn't need any gifts of prophecy to know exactly what he was about to say.


	7. Chapter 7

"Let her stay," Loki said as they stepped out of his office.

Thor folded his arms and leant against the wall, raising his eyebrows. Just as he had suspected.

"Why should I? She is a renegade from a nearby, more or less friendly kingdom. If she wants to live here, that is her business, but I owe her nothing."

"But she's like me," Loki hissed.

Thor scoffed.

"She's painted some kind of folk remedy on her hand to try to fool me. It's a carnival trick, nothing more. There must be some kind of rumour that I have a soothsayer among my court and so she's trying to pretend to have a power in the hope of attracting sympathy."

"Why bother, Thor? Why let you know she's here at all? Why not just run away and avoid drawing attention unless you're scared? She's like me. She has a gift. She must have."

Maybe he had a point. It would certainly be an odd choice to come into court, to make a fuss in front of all the potential spies there when surely you could just cross the border and change your name, move somewhere no one knew you and start a new life.

"You think she's telling the truth? About the bodies and the killing?"

"I know that most people don't like people like us. They get scared. You're scared of me and you're the best friend I have."

"I'm not scared of you."

Loki leaned close, his voice low.

"Then why don't you ever finish?"

The truth of it burned a little. Thor felt his anger rising, furious that they both knew it. But he was right about the woman too, potentially. He went back in, sitting down, weighing things up.

"Show me again," he said.

She dutifully revealed her hand and it began to glow, a steady light. If it was a trick, it was a good one.

"May I?" Thor asked before taking her hand.

It felt very ordinary, warm and unremarkable. There was no residue or other substances on her skin. Merely glowing.

"And you can control this at will?" he asked.

"As easily as speaking," she said, making the light fade to nothingness and then brighten again.

Now, that was interesting. If she was, indeed, like Loki then perhaps he could learn to control his gift too. Maybe he'd be able to foretell at will and not require outside stimulation, or at least choose how far he was foretelling.

"How many of you are there?" he asked. "People with powers, I mean."

"Two others that I know of, one who will come if I send word that this is a safe place."

Two people was not very many. He could easily find work for them. And perhaps they could teach Loki.

He switched his grip into a grasp of her hand, shaking it.

"Welcome to my household guard, Miss..."

"Brunnhilde. Thank you. Thank you so much."

As he sent her to Sif to be shown the ropes, Loki placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you."

He hadn't really done it for him, but Thor accepted his gratitude anyway.

"You're welcome."

He wasn't expecting Loki to slip into his lap, pouting down at him fondly.

"I wouldn't mind showing you how grateful I am," he murmured. "And maybe you can prove that you're not afraid of me."

Thor hesitated. He wanted, yes. He knew he did. But also...

"Don't start thinking that this is something it's not," he said as Loki ground down against him, rolling his hips.

"I know exactly what it is," Loki said. "You seek visions from me, I receive luxury from you. But beyond that, I get climax after climax and so far, you haven't. I just want to even up the numbers on that front. After all, you must be terribly tense, getting so close but never quite tipping over the edge. How long has it been?"

It was difficult to give a withering look with one's arousal growing.

"I handle myself," he lied. He hadn't since they'd met.

"Let me. Please. I want to."

Thor wondered what blend of hurt pride and real passion and thanks was driving this, but then again, he wasn't one to refuse something so freely offered.

"Very well," he said. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Loki grinned at him.


	8. Chapter 8

"The problem is that you are put off by the visions," Loki said, still rolling his hips in a way Thor was enjoying very much. "But I don't necessarily have to have one. They only come once I've reached the point of no return."

Thor tried to think through the haze of arousal.

"I pride myself on satisfied partners," he said.

"So do I. Which is why your resistance to me is so personally upsetting."

Thor couldn't help chuckling, running his hands up Loki's thighs.

"Resistance? That's hardly how I would describe it. You know how desirable I find you. Surely you feel it?"

Loki exhaled heavily, his eyelids fluttering as Thor thrust upwards against him.

"Right up until I go into my trance," he said. "And I understand why, of course. It must be quite frightening. But, well... In the meantime, there are other ways."

There wasn't time for Thor to ask what exactly he meant by that before Loki slipped out of his lap to kneel in front of him half under the desk.

"You've done this for me often enough," he said, undoing Thor's belt. "I'm rather surprised you haven't asked me to reciprocate before now."

Thor knew why that was. When he did it, it was to provoke a vision, a means to an end. If Loki did it... Well that was dangerously close to being lovers and that was not what they were. He used Loki for his gift, not for anything else.

But since he was offering...

He let Loki lead him, shuffling slightly to let him push his small clothes out of the way, his fingers chill against the heat of his flesh but in a pleasant way.

Those eyes, that face, the way he looked up and then down so slowly... Thor's faint reluctance was rapidly slipping away. It didn't mean anything if Loki wanted to demonstrate his skills. He was right, it was just an action.

An action it seemed Loki was very skilled in. Thor gasped from the first moment, feeling the head of his cock taken between Loki's lips, delicately, very refined. So different to his own technique.

If some lucky person experienced both, they would likely take Loki to be the noble court-born king and Thor the eager cave-dweller...

This gentleness, the careful increases of depth and intensity were no doubt supposed to be teasing him, but in truth he was almost hypnotised by the steady motions, like the waves of an incoming tide. Constant and inevitable.

All the same, he wasn't expecting Loki to lean forward and take it all into his mouth, just for a moment before starting to use his hand, firm strokes, maintaining eye contact with a look that Thor would best describe as rather smug.

"You're good at this," he panted, surprised to find himself out of breath.

"Mm," Loki said, just an acknowledgement. He knew.

He was speeding up, sucking harder, urging Thor on. And who was he to deny such an obvious request?

Bucking forward just a little, confident that Loki could handle it, he let himself be carried away by sensation, by heat and wetness and suction and rhythm.

It really had been a while. A long, long while, by his standards. He spilled almost unexpectedly, unable to resiat letting out a cry, feeling his whole body shake with intensity, chest heaving.

If Loki had looked smug before, it was nothing to how he looked tucking Thor back into his clothes and moving, serpentine, back into his lap.

"You're welcome," he said.

Thor rolled his eyes and deposited him onto the edge of the desk.

"Yes, well," he said. "Since this appears to be the way we express gratitude now, I suppose I'd best get on with it."

A few minutes later, with fingers tangled in his hair, Loki told him that Brunnhilde would beat him in a sparring match and laughed at how insulted he was afterwards.

"I don't control the future," he said, stroking Thor's scalp where he'd pulled too hard. "I just report what I see."

Thor grabbed his wrist, kissing his fingers roughly.

It seemed he ought to head down to the training yard in the morning.


	9. Chapter 9

The guards were practising drills the next morning when Thor made his way down into the courtyard. He hadn't woken Loki yet, partly because he knew how much he valued his sleep but mostly because he wanted to talk to Brunnhilde alone if possible.

Loki might already have foreseen this anyway. Thor wasn't fully convinced that he told him absolutely everything that he saw. He said it was a compulsion, but... Well, Thor had his doubts.

Sif caught sight of him right away, walking over, pink-cheeked and skin shiny from effort.

"Good morning, your majesty."

"Morning. How's Brunnhilde doing? Living up to your standards?"

"Excellently. She's picked everything up right away so far. They clearly work them hard wherever she's from."

Thor nodded vaguely. He was hoping she'd settle in easily, free from her fears, and prove to be an asset to the palace.

"Any trouble from the others?" he asked. "Any... I don't know, awkwardness since she's from elsewhere?"

"Some wariness perhaps from one or two, but nothing too concerning. Most are treating her as a new recruit like any other, albeit with some previous experience"

Thor watched a few more runs, the steps and turns, the swinging of staffs, and wondered how to voice his true purpose without it sounding odd.

"I'd like to spar with her," he said. "I know it's been a while since I showed my face around here, but I'd like to see her skills."

Something about Sif's look bothered him a little. A faint suspicion maybe, or surprise at least.

"In... private?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't much mind. In fact, it might be good for it to be seen. Show that I haven't completely lost the knack."

She exhaled a shade more forcefully than he might have expected, stepping up to clear the yard as Thor stretched and limbered up. He was going to lose this fight, he knew, but he might as well put on a good show all the same. Loki hadn't said how close it was, after all.

Brunnhilde seemed a little shocked, taking a practice staff from Sif with a frown on her face. Thor could see her weighing up her options, wondering whether to fight as well as she could and therefore prove herself or to hold back, allow the king to win.

"Don't go easy on me," Thor said softly.

"Nor you, your majesty."

They circled one another a few times, her new comrades watching with interest.

Thor feinted forward, just testing, impressed when she didn't so much as flinch. She knew there was no danger.

"When did you first learn what you could do?" he asked, pretending it to be merely friendly banter.

She brought up her staff to match his, remaining calm.

"When I was a little girl, afraid of the dark."

Interesting. Instinctive, presumably. A reaction to fear that she'd learned to handle.

A firmer attempt now, one she had to duck but which was slow enough to give ample time for such an action. A brave soul on the sidelines risked a jeer, aware that they weren't trying their hardest yet.

"And controlling it," Thor continued. "How did you learn that?"

She swung quickly at his arms, forcing him to block.

"I don't know what you mean. I always could, mostly. I thought everyone could do it until my mother caught me reading after bed time and warned me to hide it. At night, in my sleep, sometimes I slip. That's why I decided to leave."

Damn. Thor changed his block into an arm-shaking strike against her staff, knocking her back slightly. She dodged around an attempt at another strike, giving him a blow to the side on her way past. Someone let out a sympathetic hiss.

The air knocked out of him slightly, Thor still managed to twirl with a degree of grace and only just miss catching her.

"You wouldn't know how to help another learn to control something similar, then?" he asked.

"I don't think I'd know where to start, I'm afraid."

With that last, she let loose a flurry of blows, really testing Thor's reactions, getting some cheers from their audience. Thor used his heavier bulk to drive her back, getting her shoulder once hard enough that she grunted even though her padded armour, spinning round him again.

And from a new angle, Thor spotted a familiar dark head watching them, feeling a jolt of surprise that soon became a horrible pain as Brunnhilde thwacked him on the side of the head, her staff hitting the ground and a tumble of apologies following.

"I thought you'd move!" she said as he stumbled back, dazed. "I'm so sorry, I thought you'd duck..."

Was that blood? It didn't feel like a bad wound, but she had broken the skin.

And now Sif was by his side, very concerned, making him force out a laugh and hold up his hand.

"I yield," he said. "Fair fight. No lasting harm done, I'm sure. I'll just... see the sawbones briefly."

He concentrated very hard on walking in a straight line, Loki falling into step beside him, fussing a little.

"I told you this would happen," he said quietly.

"You said I'd lose! You said nothing about minding my head."

"Well, you might have ducked if you'd known and I don't know what happens if the future is changed. Maybe I drop dead. Maybe the world ends. Anyway are you alright? It looked harder than it did the first time."

"I'll be fine. Head cuts always look worse than they are."

That was his physician's view too, bandaging him up but asserting after a few pokes that he'd be left with nothing worse than bruises and perhaps a scar but to rest and report any sickness or other symptoms right away.

"I've had worse," Thor kept insisting as Loki sighed at him. "Anyway, why are you worried?"

"I've rather become used to my current lifestyle," he said. "And I have no intention of going back to a cave. If you died, I'd lose all my rights and privileges. Now, come on. You're going to bed."

"I can manage court."

"No. You are to rest and that includes your mind."

Grumbling had little effect.


	10. Chapter 10

Thor distantly became aware of voices. Loki had been reading to him in a somewhat stumbling manner that Thor was not commenting on for fear of offending him, but there was distinctly another voice there now.

Two, in fact.

"Are you sure he won't expel me?" Brunnhilde was asking softly.

"The king is known for his mercy," Sif said.

Thor wasn't entirely sure that that was true, but he tried not to let them know that he was awake. He'd rather hear what people said about him outside of his hearing.

"He insists that he's going to be alright," Loki said. "We'll just have to wait."

"Have you no ideas on that front?"

There was a somewhat frosty pause. Of course, she didn't know just how Loki had to manifest his powers. She thought he could do it more or less at will.

"Alas, I have not yet had time to consult the signs," Loki said.

Thor rolled over very deliberately, like he had just stirred, blinking at the three of them.

"Your majesty," Brunnhilde said, bowing to him very low. "I am so, so sorry..."

"It was my fault," Thor said. "I was distracted. Accidents happen sometimes. I'll be fine. I've had worse. No hard feelings."

Sif gave him a look he hadn't faced since his mother passed.

"Yes, well," she said firmly. "We could all afford to be a little more careful in future, I think. Your majesty, can I speak to you alone?"

Loki didn't seem surprised, slipping off the plush chair he'd been occupying and heading out of the room, Brunnhilde following him decidedly more warily.

Thor pretended he didn't know what Sif was about to say to him, but you didn't need special powers to know really.

"Well?" he asked.

"I hope you don't think I'm speaking out of turn, sire."

"You're one of my oldest friends. I value your advice and your honesty."

She sighed, rubbing one of her shoulders.

"I just worry about you. You're allowing one stranger to have a lot of influence in court and another to join your household guard."

"There are plenty of strangers in the ranks. Hogun, for one and you have no problem with him. She was in danger, she asked for refuge, I granted it and she has skills that we can use. She's not dangerous. And I can handle Loki. He ultimately just wants material comforts and a little luxury in exchange for his skills."

"It's not that I don't trust him," she said, not entirely convincingly. "But there is some... talk."

"I'd imagine there is, but so what?"

"They say you're bewitched. They say your judgement is slipping."

"Where? Because I have an advisor?"

"What advisor? You have a man who shares your bed. Everyone knows it."

"I have taken a lover. So what? Many people do. It's a proud royal tradition."

"But traditionally the lovers and the advisors tend to be different people, with the former not seen to be having influence."

She had a point and Thor knew it, but he needed Loki to be by his side. How was he to recognise which "youth with dark eyes" or "young-ish woman" was which without checking? But other people saw only his bejewelled companion, his kept man. They didn't know how important he was.

He ought to do something about that, perhaps. But what? Should he pretend Loki had no power whatsoever and accept the rumours that would follow about him being influenced by his lover?

Or should he give Loki an official position with a title and some actual responsibility? Would Loki even want that? Was that dangerous, since really they didn't know each other that well? He didn't want to give him any actual power as such...

"I will think hard on what you have said," he promised. "But Loki's powers are real and beneficial to me and I have no intention of separating from him at this time. But rest assured, I am grateful for your advice, always."

She seemed a little soothed at least, glad to be calmly heard, her shoulders relaxing somewhat. She bowed.

"Then I'll leave you to recover."

"Can you send the two of them back in?" Thor asked. "Assuming Brunnhilde is still there."

If Sif objected in any way, she didn't show it and Loki duly swept his way back into the room to reclaim his chair, Brunnhilde following a little more cautiously.

"She has eyes for you, you know," Loki said.

Thor scoffed.

"What, Sif? Don't be ridiculous."

Loki shrugged, letting it drop.

"Please, Brunnhilde, sit down," Thor said. "I realise this is unusual, but we have something important to discuss."


	11. Chapter 11

Faced with two concerned faces, Thor tried to choose his words carefully.

"You both have powers," he said. "But they work differently. Still, though, I find myself wondering if you could learn from one another."

Loki was obviously suspicious, folding his arms.

"No offence," he said with a tone several feet wide of convincing. "But I think my gift is a little more complex than hers. I see the wonders of the future. She makes her hands glow."

"But she can control her power more or less at will. I wondered if there might be some skills you could learn. Or at least that speaking to someone else who is different might help."

He wasn't sure how well this was going down. And maybe it would be better to have this discussion with Loko in private.

"It's merely a suggestion," Thor said. "Think on it. Thank you, Brunnhilde. Let me know when your friend arrives."

She left her chair and bowed, a little differently to how Asgardians did, and took her leave. Thor shuffled under his blankets properly, aware of the glower coming from his right.

"Go on, then," he said eventually. "I know you want to say something."

"If you don't want to fuck me, you don't have to," Loki said. "You don't have to pretend. I'm sorry that you find me so repulsive."

Of course it would be something like that...

"That's not what's happening and you know it isn't. I just wondered if it would be possible for you to aim your powers more carefully so they would be more useful rather than a random glimpse into the future."

"Do you not think I've tried? It's impossible. I can't just 'aim' at tomorrow. The future isn't exactly tangible. It's not like a map with landmarks that tell me what's happening when. There's no plan for context."

"What is it like, then?"

Loki hesitated and Thor carefully shuffled to his left, grunting as even light pressure against his head made little jolts of pain rush around him, lifting up the blankets.

"Come on," he said. "Talk to me. If you want. You don't have to."

It was perhaps petty to throw his words back at him, but Thor was still deeply gratified when Loki huffed and shuffled and finally slipped into bed beside him, tempted by somewhere soft and warm as usual, even curling in towards Thor's side.

"I don't really know how to describe it. I see the scene before me like I'm seeing through your eyes but it's somewhat blurry. I see the main points but the rest is misty. And I feel compelled to describe it, an urge I can't deny. I've tried. I've tried to be normal so I could hide it, enter into a real partnership but I can't hold it back. It would be like trying not to spill. Once you get to a certain point, you just can't help it."

Despite himself, Thor found his heart aching. Trying to change how he was, trying to hide... It can't have been pleasant. And while he was wary about giving any idea of too much affection, there was no reason that they couldn't be... friends.

"What would be ideal for you in this arrangement?" he asked. "What can I do for you?"

He felt the shrug, heard the sigh.

"I don't know. I know I'm only here because I'm useful to you, but this is still the longest intimate relationship I've ever had. And that's... nice. I like it."

This was a tricky path to walk. But then again, Thor wanted Loki to stay, wanted their arrangement to continue and that meant providing Loki with the lifestyle he wanted, as agreed.

"I'm perfectly willing to give you that intimacy," Thor said. "But I worry about feelings getting tangled up in it."

"There don't have to be feelings. Just... I'd like to experience what that might be like. Even a pale imitation of it."

Thor thought for a moment, wondering if he could manage that, if the risks were worth it, and came to a conclusion, rolling over and laying his hand on Loki's cheek.

They didn't really kiss. Not really, not in all its varieties. In the throes of passion sometimes, all messy and demanding. But never soft. Never gentle.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to the corner of Loki's mouth. To his cheekbone. To his brow and his forehead. Delicate little kisses, like every part of him was precious.

The way all the tension left Loki's body told him he'd made the right decision.

"I promise I'll try to make things like this part of our life," he said softly. "And we should also think about what your role is to be."

Loki's eyes flashed open, confused.

"Role? What role?"

"Apparently some people are confused by your presence at court," Thor sighed. "I thought perhaps a proper name for you might be helpful. Like advisor. Or vizier maybe."

"What's a vizier?"

"It's sort of like a minister."

"Hm. I'll consider it. But right now, you need to sleep. Your head won't get better if you don't let it use up all your energy."

No one had really fussed over him like this since his mother passed.

He was a little embarrassed by how much he liked it.


	12. Chapter 12

A few days later, when Thor's injury had healed to the point of just a little discolouration of his skin and the soon-to-be scar, another visitor from Sakaar managed to stumble through their gates.

Loki had foretold his coming but the flash of the future had only said that he was tall and a little awkward, not anything about his power. Thor was rather keen to see it.

It was simultaneously more and less impressive than he had expected.

The man called himself Korg and was, indeed, a rather gangly fellow, with a soft, lilting voice. Thor got the feeling that he had often had his height mistaken as threatening and therefore he stood slightly hunched, seeming to try to make himself seem slighter and smaller than he was.

Thor ensured he got some food before asking for a demonstration, watching in wonder as his skin became grey and solid, like he was made of stone.

It was certainly incredible, but...

"What uses have you found for this ability?" Thor asked. "Forgive me, but it's not the most practical of things."

"Well, I was hide and seek champion all through my childhood, sire."

Hm. He seemed harmless enough. And he seemed to have been some kind of nurse in Sakaar so Thor sent him to find work in the infirmary.

"They'll be safe here," he said to Loki over reading some reports from the provinces. "That's the main thing."

"Mm. It's all anyone wants, isn't it? Just to live peacefully and not harm anyone. I just hope they manage to stay hidden. You're more or less relaxed around us now, but not everyone would be."

"Mm. Strange ability, though. Yours and Brunnhilde both have potential uses. I don't see the purpose of turning to stone."

"Defensive. Good at hiding, like he said."

"Do you think if someone were to mark him with a chisel that he'd develop the same mark in his flesh?"

"Careful. He's already run from people who wanted to cut him up. Don't make him regret it."

"I wouldn't! I wouldn't do anything like that. I'm just curious, that's all. Just thinking out loud."

The thoughts of what they had potentially escaped troubled him though. How many people like them were there in Sakaar? How much danger were they in? Did they all know of it? Was there any way to signal to them that they could be safe in Asgard without forcing them to reveal themselves?

And how many others already lived here, quietly getting on with their business? Were there even people who didn't know they had powers, who had never been in the right situation to cause them to come to the surface?

It was possible, surely. Loki hadn't known for a great deal of his life. And then there was the fact that all the people he'd met so far had different abilities. Were they all unique? Was Loki the only true soothsayer in the world or were there others? And if there were then were their powers the same, did they require the same stimulation?

He had a lot of questions and no real way of answering them. And Loki was right, the only other person he knew of with this curiosity had tried to satisfy it through cruelty and murder.

Maybe some knowledge wasn't worth the price. Or, at least, could surely be learned in better ways.

His father wouldn't have cared for such talk. He'd been obsessed with knowledge and understanding, at any cost. And part of that had definitely come down to Thor; why else had he been so keen to have a seer in his life?

Well, apart from the fact that Loki was sharp and perceptive outside of that particular talent. He understood people with the eyes of an outsider, one who had mainly been excluded from society in adulthood. He'd studied people, aware of the smallest details of the face that revealed any potential risk to his person.

He wasn't fully accepted as an advisor yet, but that was coming slowly. Other people were not unconscious of the fact that he was, undoubtedly, an asset to the kingdom. He wasn't afraid to tell Thor exactly what he thought.

Which could cause issues sometimes, especially with the more cautious members of his court and council. When Loki casually asserted that things like inspections of the taxation collectors ought to come without warnings, for instance, there was a degree of discomfort among certain people present.

"You should be more careful," Thor said later as they lay in bed, his arm wrapped around Loki's waist, cuddling in behind him. They didn't always share a bed, but Thor had found that it was sometimes the best way to get some important things said.

"Why? If they're doing something wrong, that can't be allowed to continue."

"They're powerful people. It is better for me to keep them happy and under my eye than unhappy and plotting against me in the shadows."

Loki didn't seem fully convinced, but he fell asleep in Thor's arms all the same.


	13. Chapter 13

The first hint that trouble was potentially on the horizon came in the bath. Thor was trying to find moments of intimacy for their lives, rather more than he generally did with other lovers, but aware that this was what Loki wanted and therefore what he would get.

And it wasn't like it was unpleasant to wash Loki's hair and hear him sigh happily, massaging his scalp and then down his body.

"Do you like me, Thor?"

Where had this come from now?

"Of course."

"No, but... But do you like me? For myself, I mean?"

Thor lathered up some more suds, stroking them into dark tresses.

"Of course I do. You're intelligent and witty, good company. What's brought this on?"

"Just what you were saying about keeping people close and happy so they don't start getting ideas."

"Well, you're not going to plot against me, I hope."

"Well, no, but... But I just wondered if that was the only reason you indulge me. To keep me happy."

"We have an arrangement."

"I know. And I'm very comfortable with that, but I just wanted to know if you liked me outside of that."

"I do. I promise."

That didn't seem to help. No tension left Loki's body despite Thor's very best ministrations.

"Is there some way I can convince you of this?" Thor asked.

"I don't know."

Hm...

"Maybe you could tell me a little more of your history," Thor said. "If you want."

He wasn't sure how well that was received. Loki seemed wary. Like he was afraid of being mocked.

"All I really know about you is that you didn't discover your powers until your first time," Thor said conversationally. "Do you have any family?"

"Not anymore. I was reliably informed that I had parents. I don't remember them. Died when I was a child. My uncle raised me until he died and by that point I was old enough to strike out and make my own way. I did farm work mostly. And then I slept with a farmer's daughter, terrified her and was soon out on my ear. After that, I began wandering from place to place, looking for anywhere I could at least scratch out a living, moving on whenever necessary."

"What of schooling?"

"What about it?"

"Well, you can read. You can count."

"My uncle taught me what little he knew. And when I was wandering, sometimes I'd manage to overhear some lessons and learn a bit more."

Would he welcome the offer of more structured tutoring or would that be offensive? He had not asked for anything like that, just for access to books, but when he'd been reading aloud, he had stumbled a few times here and there.

"My library is entirely at your disposal," Thor said. "And should you wish for... a teacher or..."

"Do you think I need one?"

"No," Thor said quickly. "Just you're very interested in the world so if you wanted..."

He didn't know how to word it. He wasn't used to trying not to offend people. Or, at least, he was used to being mildly false with others, to the diplomatic kind of lying, not trying to maintain this fledgling honest closeness.

Loki pulled away from him, dunking his head under the water to rinse off, rising up afterwards like a merman or a siren.

"I'll think about it," he said, coming closer, laying his hands on Thor's shoulders. "But right now, I think I want something else."

This felt suspiciously like a distraction, but if it was what he wanted then Thor wasn't about to say no.

He pulled Loki close, running his hands down over his body, feeling him arch against him. He was always so responsive, so eager to be held.

Sometimes Thor would spin him round and hold him fast, being a little rough, but not today. He was trying to soothe any potentially ruffled feathers.

A sweet kiss and then something a little more passionate. Loki hooked a leg around his hip, or tried to anyway. The wall of the bathing pool rather got in the way. Still, Thor caught his calf and stroked up his thigh, over his hip and up as he slipped his other hand under the water to find him already hard.

In truth, Thor wasn't far behind. And in the interests of intimacy, he wrapped his fingers around both their lengths, feeling Loki jerk against him, stroking hard and fast.

He hadn't done this in a very long time, not since one of his first love affairs. And it truly had been love back then. Impossible, but love all the same.

Forcing that thought out of his mind, he focussed on Loki's quick breathing, the way he was clinging on, his eyes already beginning to roll.

"A woman will come," he grunted. "She seeks Brunnhilde. She is... Ah! She is no-o-t as she appears."

His chest heaved, shaking in Thor's arms, needing to be caught as he slipped on the pool floor.

"Hey," Thor said softly. "Are you alright?"

A long, long exhale.

"I... That was intense."

"No more than usual."

Loki stood up, clearing his throat, a little awkward.

"The climax was as pleasing as ever," he said. "The vision, on the other hand, was... a deal stronger."

Thor's heart leapt.

"In what way?" he asked eagerly. "Longer? Clearer?"

"I... I don't know," Loki said, climbing out, water cascading from his body. "I'd actually like a moment alone. Excuse me."

Thor watched him go, full of concern, but didn't follow where he wasn't wanted.

Unable to summon any enthusiasm to reach his own peak, he washed his own hair and waited.

When he finally risked peeking his head round the door, Loki wasn't even in the chambers at all.


	14. Chapter 14

He found out from the guards that Loki had gone to his own rooms. Thor didn't follow. He clearly needed some time to himself.

Instead, he decided to seek out Brunnhilde. After all, the prophecy had her in it. She ought to know that something had been foretold about her. But at the same time, he didn't want to pull her out in front of her new colleagues. Sif seemed to think she'd settled in well, but she was still an outsider, an incomer. He didn't want to mark her out any further unnecessarily if he could avoid it.

He wandered down towards the mess hall anyway, trying to judge how many people were around. How many would notice if he took her aside for a moment.

No, from the sound of that chatter, there were too many. Far too many. He'd have to wait till later.

And he hated waiting...

Still, if the troops were occupied, the training yard was probably unoccupied. He could get in some work without prying eyes. Deal with some... excess energy.

Should probably have done this before bathing, but he could always wash quickly afterwards.

As he got closer though, he could hear some grunting, some blows of wood on wood. Someone was still training.

Creeping up, Thor poked his head around the corner, finding Sif battling a dummy, striking it viciously in a flurry of spins. Skill and strength, full of focus.

But there was something else too. Almost like frustration, like she was trying to get something out in the effort and sweat. Anger, maybe. And that was troubling. What had annoyed her?

He waited until he stopped, panting and pushing her hair back where a few strands had fallen loose.

"Everything alright?" he called, trying to seem as though he had only just arrived.

"Oh," she said, embarrassed, shaking herself. "Yes, of course. Absolutely fine."

"You didn't... look fine."

She chuckled vaguely, though it seemed forced.

"Fandral beat me today. Need to sharpen up."

He knew her well enough to suspect that was an excuse, but he let it go. If she was troubled by a personal matter, it was exactly that.

"Had any interesting new revelations recently?" she asked, perhaps trying to deflect him.

"Yes, actually," he replied, feeling he owed her the honesty of answering her question. "Apparently a woman will come looking for Brunnhilde. Seems like trouble. I don't know, I'm uneasy about it."

"You came to warn her?"

"Mm. And to ask if she knows who it might be, get some more information. I didn't want to embarrass her in front of anyone though. It wouldn't be fair to make them think she was getting some kind of special treatment."

"I could ask her, if you want."

"Would you? That would be very helpful."

A shrug.

"She's one of my troops. Her welfare is my responsibility now. If someone is coming to make trouble for her, they'll have me to deal with."

She was twirling her staff between her hands, subtly menacing. A fierce protector.

"She's lucky to have you," Thor said.

"I like her. She reminds me of myself almost. Keen. Dedicated. We could use more people like that."

That was probably true. Thor patted her on the shoulder, hoping that such a simple gesture would properly convey his thanks. She smiled, wiping a little sweat from her brow, and headed for the bathing rooms.

"So, what kind of woman is it?" she asked.

"I... I'm not sure, actually."

"You didn't ask your fortune teller?"

"He's... having some time alone."

She looked at him almost sharply just before they parted, concern in her eyes.

"Trouble?"

"No, I don't think so. He needs his own space sometimes, that's all."

"As long as you haven't broken his heart or anything."

Thor scoffed.

"What? No. No, it's not like that," he said. "It's not."

She gave him another look. A look that worried him.

"It's not!" he insisted.

"If you say so, your majesty. Excuse me."

Well. It wasn't. So there.


	15. Chapter 15

It wasn't like that. They had an arrangement and Loki had told him to his face that he was comfortable with it.

There was nothing deeper than mutual benefit. No feelings beyond friendship. A close friendship, but no more than that, surely. Or so he thought, anyway. Certainly, on his side... Well, he liked Loki well enough and he found him desirable, but that was hardly the same as having his heart in it too.

And as for Loki, surely he understood that he wasn't to get carried away. He was intelligent enough. He knew that feelings were not part of what they had.

Still, a horrible, cruel voice spoke in the back of his mind; maybe if Loki loved him, it would give him yet another reason to stay and continue providing his skills.

That was an awful thing to even consider, and yet...

He went upstairs, listening briefly at Loki's door before knocking quietly.

"Yes?"

"It's me. Can I come in?"

A pause. And then, "I suppose so."

Thor slipped inside, finding Loki sitting up in his bed, right in the centre of the headboard, a book in his lap.

"Are you alright?" Thor asked.

It was something of a redundant question. Obvious. Almost pointless. Of course he wasn't alright. He wouldn't have felt the need to hide if he was.

"Feeling better now," Loki said. "I think it was just the shock. It's never been like that before."

Trusting that he'd say something if he objected, Thor crossed the room and sat on the end of the bed, fiddling with the edge of the blanket.

"In what way was it different?" he asked softly. "Longer or...?"

"Not especially. More like more vivid. Normally I see something like a dream, some details but rather cloudy beyond them. This was like I was literally there in the room, right at that moment. It wasn't just one person in focus - I saw the woman and the court and the guards and even myself. And that was... I don't know. Frightening."

Thor couldn't understand. The whole experience was so alien to him. But he could listen and try to help.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

"No. I'm alright. It was just a surprise. I'll be fine."

Thor hoped that was true. He hoped Loki wasn't trying to hide his feelings.

"Sif thought I must have done something to upset you," he said carefully, feeling for any hints.

"You... You told her?"

"Not in so many words. She asked where you were and I said you were just having a little time to yourself. But then I wanted to make sure that it wasn't actually something I'd done..."

"Not everything is about you, Thor."

At least he was able to make fun. Thor chuckled, reassured somewhat. He wasn't too badly shaken. Or he was still able to hide it well enough.

"Do you want to come down for dinner? You don't have to."

"Could we dine privately? Would you mind? I don't feel like getting dressed."

Thor bit back a comment about him never feeling like getting dressed - after all, that wasn't true; Loki would change for every meal usually, always wanting to appear more dazzling, more opulent. And Thor rather enjoyed giving him that, showing him off a little. He was stunning after all, and if everyone thought they were simply lovers then perhaps they wouldn't guess the truth of their relationship.

And it made Loki happy, which was good for them both.

"Of course we can," he said instead. "I'll have it brought up."

Usually, he'd send a servant with his request, but this felt like a little more personalisation was necessary. A few extra treats to calm any remaining shudders. He'd visit the kitchens himself, see what he could find.

He might be king of Asgard, but king of his kitchen was undoubtedly Volstagg. He had been his father's head cook and generally had only one setting which was hearty. No delicate little desserts here - if it couldn't be made in a large pot or a basin, he didn't generally want to know.

Thor still had fond childhood memories of being given the most delicious batter puddings, cooked beneath a roasting joint, full of all the gravy and caramelised pieces that had fallen off. No wonder he'd always been so full of energy with such rich food in his blood.

Sure enough, Volstagg was stirring something delicious-smelling, some sort of stew, chopping up large chunks of leeks and tossing them in.

"Evening, your majesty," he said, jovial as ever. "Looking for something?"

"Comfort food," Thor said. "Though what you've got cooking smells like just the thing."

"It could do with some simmering if I'm honest, but if you don't mind some crunch, you can take some now. And I have something nice in the cellar."

Thor expected wine, but it seemed that Volstagg had also been experimenting with cream and fruit to make something akin to a gooseberry fool.

"Ah," Thor said. "Perfect. Could I have a tray, please?"

Not only a tray, but also an eldest daughter to carry it, no matter how much Thor protested that he could manage. He insisted on taking the wine bottle himself though. No need to overburden the poor girl.

He rembered Hilde being much smaller and louder. She'd had a growth spurt perhaps, her red hair tied back in a series of complex plaits to keep it out of her face, an apron with the marks of the day's work upon it. She was learning her father's trade well.

"This kind of fetching and carrying is a little beneath your skills," Thor said as they climbed the stairs together.

"Oh, I don't mind, your majesty," she said. "It can get very hot in the kitchen. I love it, though. I always think it's funny, how much I complain when I don't think there's anything else I'd rather be doing. Is your young man not well?"

That was an unexpectedly sudden question.

"No, no," Thor said. "It's merely been rather a long week and we require some calm away from the great hall. It can get rather rowdy down there, as you know."

"Mm. Sometimes it's nice to have a quiet evening."

He knocked on Loki's door, hoping he wasn't indecently dressed since he had a young girl with him, and brought their dinner inside.

He'd seldom been gladder to see a dressing gown.


	16. Chapter 16

Hilde made them put the puddings safely on a window sill behind the curtain to keep them fresh. Loki tended to keep his curtains closed always. Maybe the darkness made him feel safer. Concealed and protected.

"How did you end up in your cave?" Thor asked. "You said you were travelling from place to place... What made you hide away up there?"

Loki sighed, sitting down at his table and taking up his bowl of stew, inhaling deeply. He loved food generally, but especially anything with pepper in it. Hopefully this would hit just the right spot.

"I got tired," he said. "Every town, it was always the same. I'd move somewhere, I'd try to settle down, but, well... I am weak to sensation and desire, as you know. Sooner or later, someone would catch my eye or I'd catch theirs and even if I tried to keep things one way, eventually I'd succumb and...Well, I just got sick of being rejected. And some places I lived, they thought I was cursed and chased me out. I figured living by myself meant no temptation, no risk. Until you sent Sif after me."

"Sorry about that."

"No, no. It's one of the best things that's happened to me, all things considered."

"I should have gone about it another way. A gentler way."

"Well, you know how well I appreciate the rougher things when I'm in the right mood."

Thor felt strangely awkward. Which was ridiculous. It was just Loki, his tame - or not so tame sometimes - soothsayer. They'd seen each other in all manner of positions and states. Why was he nervous now?

"You've never told me about your past either," Loki said, tearing a large hunk of bread into smaller pieces.

"Not much to say."

"You're a prince, though. You must have stories. Tell me one."

Thor thought back through his highly privileged life and felt rather embarrassed. But it was a simple request, one he ought to fulfill easily enough...

A story, a story...

"When I was around twenty, maybe twenty-one, my parents sent me to visit Vanaheim alone for the first time. My mother came from there. I thought it was going to be dreadfully boring. It had always seemed dull when I was a child."

"I've been there, once. Didn't mean to - I managed to accidentally cross the border for a few nights. Only found out when I couldn't use my money to buy a room and food. But I imagine your experiences were rather different."

"Just a little. It had always been so stately when I was younger. Dinner and gentle music and then back to guest chambers long before I would normally go to bed. But when I was grown, I found out that once the children were safely in bed and out of earshot, they started on the more... bawdy repertoire."

"Ooh. How bawdy are we talking?"

"Well, let's just say it was enough that I was shocked to hear such things from the crown princess. And then they asked me to sing something from Asgard."

Loki's face split into a wide grin.

"And did you?"

"It seemed rude not to, but at the same time, I was horrified. Stand up in front of all these nice people and sing something so... licentious?"

Loki was still grinning at him, his eyes sparkling, barely suppressing his giggles.

"What did you sing?" he asked.

"All I could think of was The Horsegroom's Daughter."

Laughter bounced off the walls, followed by Loki's voice, a strong but not particularly tuneful tenor.

"I met the groom's daughter before she was wed, and the night that she knew me still lives in my head, when she met me the eve before her wedding day, saying her horse was lame and so please could she stay?"

"And she rode till sun-up," Thor joined in. "At more than a gallop, it was all I could do to keep pace... And the spurs on her heels, left scratches and weals, never mind what she did to my face."

"You sang that in front of the royal family of Vanaheim?"

"All the verses I could think of. Even the one about the bridle and whip."

He could laugh about it now. When he'd woken up the next morning at the time, he'd been mortified.

It felt good to laugh with Loki. His laughter was infectious, an unusual rhythm and completely unembarrassed. Thor felt very lucky to share it with him.

Oh...

Oh, no...

Oh, maybe it was _like that_ after all.

"Would you mind... staying here with me tonight?" Loki asked.

Thor hesitated just a little too long.

"I mean, you don't have to," Loki said. "I know we usually stay in your bed, but..."

"No. No, I'd like that. But first, we should eat dessert before it melts."

Watching Loki sucking the sweetness from his spoon would likely always cause Thor some stirrings, but he was suddenly aware all of a sudden of something more. An urge that wasn't just sexual but intimate too, for it's own sake.

He really was falling. Everyone else was right. How had he not noticed before?

Did Loki feel the same way?

"Come here," Thor murmured, watching as Loki's eyes flicked towards him, questioning. "Let me hold you."

He could taste the mousse on his lips running his hands up Loki's back, wondering if it felt different to him.

"Twice in one day?" Loki asked.

"Not necessarily..."

"Oh. I was getting a little excited. I do have my own supply of oil, you know."

"Mm..."

It was difficult to carry him to the bed, tall and heavy as he was, but entirely worth it to lay him amongst the sheets, his robe half open to reveal a strip of bare skin.

"You're so beautiful," Thor heard himself say.

Loki laughed, blushing a little.

"Come on," he said. "Make me see things."

Thor didn't need to be invited twice.


	17. Chapter 17

Where Loki had got the oil from, Thor wasn't sure, but it was very high quality. Perfectly suited to this task.

"Have you been using this alone?" he asked, warming some in his hands.

"Sometimes."

"Aren't I satisfying you enough?"

A chuckle, spreading his legs eagerly.

"Insatiable, that's me. I've become used to frequent pleasure. Terribly spoiled, really."

"I like spoiling you."

Leaving the robe on, rather enjoying how decadent it looked, Thor slicked up his fingers, knowing exactly how much Loki could handle at this point. It wasn't the most frequent of their activities, but he was practiced enough.

"Mm..." Loki said. "And, of course, I use it in my little fantasies too."

"How intriguing," Thor said, gently sliding his middle finger in and out. "What fantasies are these?"

"Some mornings, I like to open myself up and spend the day ready. And I imagine some strange scenario where you catch a glimpse of me that makes you wild with desire and you pull me aside into some little side room and I'm... Ooh, that's nice. I'm tight but open enough that you can push right in."

He'd had no idea. He'd never noticed any hint.

"How often do you do this?"

"Oh, not often. Once in a while, when I'm feeling particularly amorous. Give me another, I'm ready for it."

It was only too easy to obey, carefully pushing his fingers apart, growing almost unbearably eager himself now.

"Any other fantasies I should know about?" he asked.

Loki hesitated, seeming unsure suddenly.

"I want to feel you spill within me," he whispered. "And I know that's hard for you, but..."

It was a barrier between them. But Thor wanted to, he wanted to do this for him.

"I'll try," he said. "I promise."

"There... There is something we could try," Loki said. "If you were willing. A way to stop me from finishing until the right moment."

"How?"

Nudging Thor's hand away, Loki rolled over and opened a drawer, producing a thin piece of leather.

"Apparently, a simple tie is enough to prevent climax," he said, looping it beneath his testicles and binding himself.

"Is that not uncomfortable?" Thor asked. "It's digging into your flesh..."

"A little, but I trust this won't take too long," Loki said, smirking, settling himself back among the pillows.

Thor laughed, shedding his clothes at last and pulling him down the bed by his ankles.

"Is that so?" he asked, grasping his hips. "You don't think I can last?"

"I think I can make you not last, but I'm prepared to be proven wrong. Come on, my king. Fill me up."

It was still incredible to feel Loki's body yield to him, even more so now that he suspected he knew how he felt. But he wasn't giving that away. This was about impressing Loki, fulfilling his fantasy.

Thor ran his hand up over ribs, enjoying the feeling of the new flesh that had grown there, knowing that he had taken care of his lover, made sure that he was fed and warm and safe, up over his collarbone and neck, rubbing his thumb over parted lips.

"Full enough?" he asked, rolling his hips forward, knowing that he couldn't physically go any deeper.

Loki sucked on his thumb, so beautiful in his pleasure, his breath so warm.

"Mmm... Mm, yes. So big."

It was such a transparent tactic that Thor couldn't help but laugh.

"That won't work," he said, trying a few thrusts.

Loki laughed, all breathy, perfectly pitched to have him almost twitching with want.

"Oh, so you don't want me to tell you how much I love your cock? You don't want me to tell you how good it feels when you fuck me?"

"I'm not fucking you properly yet," Thor growled, pulling all the way out and thrusting back quickly, making Loki cry out.

"Ah! Ah, yes, just like that."

It was quick and messy, a steady stream of moans pouring from Loki's lips, gasping for breath when Thor slowed a little.

"More... Mm, more..."

"What's that?"

"Give it to me."

"Alright. Turn over for me."

He loved looking at Loki's face, but there was little better than the view of his arse revealed from under his robe, presented all for him. He took the time to run his hands all over his thighs before parting those cheeks and running his cock along the cleft.

"Ready?"

"If you don't get back inside me soon, I'll burst."

"Well, we can't have that... I think I'm still winning though."

"Oh, really? Well, maybe I haven't been trying hard enough."

Thor pushed back inside, hissing appreciatively, enjoying the contrast between his darkened cock and Loki's pale flesh, rolling his hips.

"Where were we?" he asked before taking a firm grip of Loki's hips and really letting loose.

Loki cursed and moaned, rocking back against him, gripping the sheets hard.

"Ohh... Oh, Thor... Fuck!"

So much for managing to talk him to climax, not that he needed to. Thor knew he was close. And normally he'd be nervous as he knew Loki's vision approached, but maybe this time...

"Don't stop," Loki gasped. "Oh, don't stop..."

It was sudden. He barely felt it growing, just suddenly knew he'd hit the point, knew he was about to...

"Loki," he managed to say, but nothing more, his whole body jerking as he spilled, trying to be as deep inside Loki's body as he could.

And Loki moaned, trying to tug off his binding, Thor helping him and stroking his cock.

His voice was very soft as he almost collapsed into the bed.

"You will take a journey."

What an odd thing. Thor helped him roll onto his back, sated and sleepy, out of breath.

"What do you mean, a journey?" he asked.

"I don't know. You were on a horse, riding fast, with some purpose. I didn't recognise the location. Countryside."

Thor got him some water and slipped into bed with him, cuddling close.

"Was it intense like earlier?" he asked.

Loki lay in his arms, warm and perfect and blissfully unaware that Thor's heart was so closely linked to him.

"Exactly the same," he said. "I could see every cloud overhead, every pebble on the road, every hair in your horse's mane. It was the grey one. I don't know why they're so much clearer now. It's odd."

"Mm," Thor said. "I wonder where I'm going."

It wouldn't be long before he found out.


	18. Chapter 18

Brunnhilde was in something of a panic the next morning and desperate to see Loki who was still wearing a satisfied smile and a general looseness about his limbs.

She was pacing the corridor, practically sprinting down towards them when they emerged thinking about breakfast.

"Your majesty," she said, bowing hurriedly. "Please, I must speak with Mr... With Loki."

"Of course," Thor said, closing the door firmly on their mussed bedsheets. "Come down to the office."

She was clearly distressed, looking rather like she hadn't slept well, if at all. While an interruption would have been unwelcome, he almost wished she'd come the night before.

"Sif told me that you'd foreseen a woman," she said. "What did she look like?"

"Average height," Loki said, shrugging. "Dark hair. A... harsh facial expression."

Brunnhilde's hands trembled as they flew to her face, terrified.

"You know her?" Thor asked.

"I think so. Her name is Topaz. She's... She's one of us, but she works for him, for the Grand Master. If she's coming here, it's because they suspect this is where we are."

"What should we do? Do you mean she's like you? What is her power?"

"It's similar to mine, except she can burn people. She's his torturer."

Thor felt a horrible shiver run up his spine. Torture? No wonder Brunnhilde was terrified. But then again, maybe they were jumping to conclusions.

"Is it possible that she is trying to escape?" he asked. "Perhaps her own life is in danger."

"I doubt it. She's very loyal. She's very useful so I don't think he would use her for his experiments. I think the wisest course would be for us to hide. If she can't find us, maybe she'll leave."

Maybe. It was worth a try.

"I'll have Sif keep you strictly on indoor duties and out of side. Korg will be safe in the hospital. We'll deny all knowledge and send her on her way."

Honestly, he wasn't sure how much use Brunnhilde would be to Sif in her current state, clearly in some kind of shock or intense fear. This woman, this Topaz, must truly frighten her. And though he didn't know her well, Thor trusted her judgement enough to take that to heart.

"Maybe you should stay out of sight too," he said to Loki after she'd left.

"I don't think so," Loki said.

"I want you to be safe."

"I was present in my vision. I have to be there."

There was no way Thor could verify that and his stomach felt like it was full of rocks. It ached in a way he'd only known once before, when he knew his mother was dying and that there was nothing he could do to stop it. A horrible, heavy solid feeling.

"I really would prefer it if she didn't know of your existence," he tried.

"Why? You'll be there, you'll protect me. No one would dare even think about harming me."

"Of course, but... But it's still a risk."

"And I'm choosing to take it. It's my decision."

"Loki..."

"You don't own me, Thor. That's not part of our arrangement."

"No, but I... I care about what happens to you."

He'd almost said it. He'd almost confessed his love. But he wasn't ready. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be ready for that. It was too big, too much, revealing far, far too much of himself in a way he wasn't comfortable with.

"I have to be there," Loki insisted. "I know I'm there because I have foreseen it. You shouldn't worry so much."

"I'm king. It's my job to worry."

And, of course, on a personal level, he was nervous too. Who was to say that the Grand Master didn't have intelligence about Loki already? Rumours had clearly reached beyond the borders. That was the reason Brunnhilde had sought shelter with them. Who knew what else was being whispered on the wind?

The council didn't understand the unexpected change his concerns. They didn't understand why he was suddenly so keen on defences, on knowing exactly when each change of guard would be coming. He didn't want to be caught out.

Without telling Loki, he also began making sure he had weapons to hand in the throne room too. Just in case.

Even with these precautions, he still didn't feel ready when Topaz walked in the door. Even though he'd never seen her before, he knew her. That bearing, that confidence. She had purpose in every motion of her body, bowing in the strange way that Brunnhilde still sometimes did automatically. More fussy than Asgardian style.

"Speak," he said, willing himself to stay calm even as he wanted to have her arrested immediately. "What brings you to Asgard?"

"Your majesty, I seek a fugitive."

He was steeling his face into neutrality so much that he had to be pulling several muscles.

"I see," he said. "Can you describe this person and their crimes?"

"She is a deserter, your majesty. I have her picture here."

It wasn't the best likeness, but it was still recognisably Brunnhilde. Thor carefully shook his head.

"I have not seen her."

Topaz's expression didn't so much as flicker.

"Look again, your majesty."

Thor even made a show of letting his nearby guards look, all of them following his lead and denying all knowledge.

"I'm sorry," Thor said. "She's not here."

He watched her carefully, her unflinching gaze.

"Then I'm sorry to have bothered you," she said icily. "Your majesty."

Only after she'd been escorted from the room did Thor feel he could breathe properly.


	19. Chapter 19

"I don't trust this," Thor murmured as they awaited the next petitioner. "It's too simple. She's not going to give up so easily."

"No. I fear you're right," Loki said. "They know Brunnhilde is here. But can they do anything about that? Would they start a war for her?"

"I don't know. I know very little about him or Sakaar, but this Grand Master seems... fractious and unpredictable. I'm not sure. And I worry that I will struggle to rally my own troops into a battle for one person, especially since she's a foreigner."

It wouldn't really be for one person, he supposed. It would be for Brunnhilde and Korg and Loki and everyone else like them.

"She lives here," Thor said. "She's one of my guards. That makes her Asgardian. We will defend her."

He was jumpy for the rest of the day, having to force himself to remain outwardly calm and peaceful. Listening carefully. He'd worked hard trying to earn a reputation as a fair judge and outside pressures shouldn't jeopardize that. He couldn't afford to be distracted.

All the same, when he and Loki took a walk to the barracks and got a reassuring nod from Sif, Thor couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief.

"Remain vigilant," he said to her.

"I always am. But I will. I swear. I'm putting our best on night watch."

Thor nodded, feeling at least partially reassured, heading back to the main palace complex.

"Should we check on the hospital as well?" Loki asked.

"Mm. No. I'm wary that we might be being watched. Visiting the guards is one thing, but going anywhere else might tip them off that we have something worth looking at there. Someone."

Even dinner felt tense. Thor had a bad feeling, couldn't shake it. Loki on the other hand seemed very relaxed. Too much so, in Thor's opinion.

"You need to eat, Thor," he said after he'd been pushing his food around for a good ten minutes. "Either everything will be fine and you're worried about nothing, or something will happen and you'll need your energy to spring to Brunnhilde's defence."

That was true, Thor supposed, forcing himself to take a large forkful.

"Aren't you worried?" he asked.

"Of course. But we've taken precautions. Now we just have to be careful. Besides, you're doing enough worrying for both of us."

Maybe so, but all the same Thor definitely wasn't letting Loki out of his sight. No amount of precautions would be too many to keep him safe.

Thor refused to even let him go to his room to collect his book alone. Just in case.

"It's in the same corridor, Thor," Loki said, rolling his eyes. "It's within eyeline. The guards will keep me safe. You go start warming the bed."

"No. I can't risk it. What if there's... an ambush or something? You're too precious to me."

"Aw. Anyone would think you'd fallen for me."

Thor's heart ached. Should he say something? Should he admit it?

The moment passed and he simply followed Loki to his rooms to collect his most recent bit of reading material and then back along to the royal chamber.

The guards nodded to them as usual, faithful defenders. Loki was right, probably. They were the safest people in the kingdom. No one could possibly get to them.

All the same, he clung to Loki tightly, knowing he was probably overheating him somewhat, but terrified that when he woke up, somehow, he might be gone.

Dawn was just glimmering through the window when they heard the screams. A man's voice, who Thor wasn't sure. Nothing good, though.

Thor was out of bed immediately, pulling on some boots but little else other than his nightshirt, heart pounding.

"Stay here," he murmured. "Don't come out for anyone but me or Sif."

He locked the door after him, ordering his two guards to stay put even as they obviously itched to run to help.

Thor rushed down to the throne room, retrieving his war hammer from where he'd hidden it beneath his throne and then out into the courtyard, already full of guards swarming around.

"Sif?" Thor called. "Sif?"

"Sire," she called, saluting from the midst of everything, running towards him.

"What's happened?"

"Not sure. One of the young lads seems to have been attacked, but there's no sense from him yet. He's in agony."

"Brunnhilde?"

"Safe. Fandral is with her in a secure place."

"Right. Take me to him."

He really was a young recruit. One of their cadets, shaking, blisters on his skin, moaning in pain. Already staff from the infirmary were trying to treat him but they seemed a little baffled. They'd never seen wounds quite like this before.

"It's like he's been branded," they said. "Like red hot metal was pressed to his skin."

"She was trying to get answers," Thor said. "Trying to get information out of him."

"But he knows nothing," Sif said. "There are dozens of more likely targets. It makes no sense. No one would attack a cadet unless..."

"What?"

"Unless it was a distraction from her real target."

Thor's panicked mind caught up with the warnings his tactical brain had been trying to provide and sprinted back towards the palace.

He knew he shouldn't have left Loki alone...


	20. Chapter 20

Apart from confused, half-awake courtiers, the palace was quiet. Too quiet. They eyed Thor with panic as he ran by, urging them to return to their rooms for their own safety.

He smelled the blood before he reached the top of the stairs. Or rather, he smelled burnt flesh and iron...

Bracing himself for the worst, he was relieved to find his guards still breathing, though clearly in intense pain. Their armour had been melted around their bodies, pinning them to the floor, strange metal masks upon their faces that were muting their voices. And there were clearly burns where they touched their flesh...

"Where?" Thor whispered.

Panicked eyes looked to the door, his chamber door, and the lock that had been melted away.

Rage taking over, Thor barged his way in, hammer raised, finding Loki struggling fruitlessly against metal bonds, apparently making himself as heavy and awkward as possible.

"Let him go," Thor growled.

Topaz looked over at him, a bruise blooming on her face that Thor couldn't help but feel a little glimmer of pride for. Loki hadn't gone quietly.

"We know what he is," she said. "I'm to bring him back alive. But he doesn't have to be in one piece. Think carefully."

Thor's anger surged, taking a firmer grip of his hammer.

"Hurt him and I'll have you killed," he said.

She tilted her head slightly to the side and raised the hand not holding Loki's bonds, an orange light emanating from it. Thor shrieked as his hammer suddenly shone white hot, burning his hand, forcing him to drop it.

"I could do that to his blood if you want," she said. "Or you can let us go quietly."

Thor shook his head, trying to think through the pain.

"Listen," he said. "I know why you're doing this. I know you think it's the only way you can keep yourself safe from the Grand Master, but you don't have to. You could live here in peace and be safe. Just let him go and I will give you safe haven."

For a moment, he thought he had her. He thought she might relent.

"It's alright," he said softly. "I know you're scared. I understand."

He took a step forward, just trying to get to Loki, not entirely sure what he would do, but maybe if they could restrain her arms...

And then something in her expression changed, something harsh, raising her hand again.

"Stay back!"

"Please," Thor said. "Please, this doesn't have to happen."

He was playing for time a little, the steam that had been rising from his hammer dissipating until he thought it might be cool enough to touch, lunging for it, hoping he was fast enough to...

Suddenly every part of his body was burning from the inside out. He couldn't even cry out, white light flashing in front of his eyes, aware that he had hit the floor, gasping with pain.

When he could finally see, Topaz was dragging Loki out of the room even as he struggled, clearly having difficulty dealing with them both. There was hope then, she could be defeated. Loki was whimpering beneath the metal mask in a way that had Thor roaring with rage, making another desperate attempt to attack only to receive another horrible magical burn.

It was worse the second time somehow. He must have passed out. The next thing he knew, Sif was looming into his vision, yelling for healers, smelling of burned hair.

"Loki..." Thor managed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm so sorry. We tried..."

Thor rolled over, hauled himself to his feet and tried to stagger out of the door, his legs giving way almost immediately.

Alright. A little healing first.

And then he was going to get Loki back.


	21. Chapter 21

He was able to walk at least a little, enough to drag himself down to the infirmary with Sif's help. It was already a flurry of activity, several of his guards being treated for burns and Korg apparently at the centre of it, sending his fellow nurses off to collect various ingredients for the large pestle and mortar he was working with.

"You've seen this before?" Thor asked.

"I'm afraid so. You're not the first to tangle with Topaz. I did some light experimenting the last time I saw something with burns from her. Mostly it's the usual treatment, but I find changing the ratios can help it work better."

His prescription for Thor's particular case was a drink, something green and bitter, almost entirely made from spinach from what he could tell, but it did seem to help a little.

"What else can you tell me?" Thor asked. "Is there any way to defend against her?"

"Not really. She has a particular affinity to metal so avoid carrying or wearing that, but as you know she can also target blood itself if she concentrates."

Yes, she could... But she had had difficulty dealing with two people at once. Maybe overwhelming her was the trick.

"You're not, er..." Korg began. "You're not thinking of going after her, are you?"

"She took Loki. I will not abandon him to torture and death. I promised him safety. I'm going to get him back and if any harm has come to him along the way, they'll not live to regret it."

"Golly."

Thor was still in a degree of pain but he was now also filled with a bone-deep rage, not so much a burning as a chill. He would go, he would get Loki back with preferably a minimum of bloodshed, but if they'd hurt him...

If they'd touched him...

He was packing when Sif caught up with him again, her hands bandaged.

"Thor, wait," she said. "Think first, act afterwards."

"I can't waste any time. Saddle my horse, the grey one."

"They came here specifically to get him. They will expect you to go on a counter attack."

She was right, as usual, but then suspicion rose in his mind.

"Yes. Yes, they knew he was here. Almost like someone had told them."

She caught his look and physically recoiled.

"What exactly are you implying?" she asked.

"Oh, come on, Sif. I know you didn't like him. You don't like what he is to me, what we are to each other. And I know how you feel about me. Maybe you thought with him out of the way..."

She was blushing hotly, tears in her eyes.

"My feelings are my own," she said vehemently. "But I would never, never do something like this. He makes you happy. That's all I want. And he's useful to Asgard. I may have been jealous, but I would never, ever betray you like that."

Regret hit him hard, feeling her sincerity immediately.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm not... Not thinking straight."

"Which is exactly why you should pause for a moment, breathe and make an actual plan. You can't just barge in and demand him back."

"He's my citizen," Thor said. "I will not have any of my people abducted against their will."

"And when that doesn't work? What then? What exactly do you think Loki is at risk of?"

He'd never told her. He'd never made her aware of exactly what happened in Sakaar, what Brunnhilde and Korg had escaped. She didn't know why he was so panicked.

"As I understand it, their ruler is very interested in people with gifts," he said softly. "He tries to understand them through experiments. Butchering. He cuts up people like Loki, people like Brunnhilde, to try to work out how they function. The best I can hope for for Loki is that they will find him useful enough to keep alive, but even then..."

"What?"

"Loki needs to... To climax in order to see his visions. That's why we became lovers at first, before I developed feelings for him. It was negotiated but consensual and over time it became something else. But I fear they will torture that information from him and... and force him and..."

Sif had gone pale as he spoke, a look he had never seen on her face before.

"We have to stop this," she said. "You'll need support."

"But every second may count. I cannot wait."

"Then go. And I'll follow with a battalion as soon as I can. Hopefully, we'll merely be your guard of honour home."

Normally, he'd take her hand in a grateful grasp, but that didn't seem wise. He squeezed her shoulder instead.

"No metal armour," he said. "No metal weapons. I'll take the grey horse."

"Are you sure? The dun is faster."

"I'm sure. The grey has more stamina."

And besides, he'd had it foretold.

She nodded, jaw set.

"Then let's get your soothsayer back," she said.


	22. Chapter 22

With some of his most impressive court clothes in his pack, Thor urged his horse into a canter and rode out of the capital, heading for Sakaar. He was fairly certain he knew where he was going. Apparently Topaz had taken off in a carriage and Thor was hopeful that maybe he'd even manage to catch her up despite the head start.

He'd brought a bow and arrow, for all that he had relatively little skill with such weapons. No metal to burn his hands.

The only metal he'd brought was gold coins to pay his way or bribe anyone necessary. If possible though, he didn't want to stop for as far as he could. Any moment lost was potentially a moment too long.

The border between Asgard and Sakaar was hardly obvious. Geography didn't exactly organise itself to match maps. Indeed, the first he knew of definitely being in another kingdom was catching sight of the people.

It wasn't that they were destitute necessarily. They were clearly able to live. But there was hardly what you might call an organised town or village, mainly individual houses and occasionally a small group haphazardly built together.

They looked at him with deep suspicion as he rode by. They weren't used to strangers, it seemed.

"I seek the capital," he said at a crossroads. "Which way?"

Wordless pointing. Even children looked at him with sharp, suspicious eyes.

"How is it here?" he asked. "Your duke, do you like him?"

"Don't know whether he lives or dies," a woman said. "Best he doesn't notice us."

"Why not?"

She simply shook her head and pointed the way again, turning back to the small field she was tending.

Thor pondered it as he rode on. No care for these people on the outskirts, no news. That would suit some, but all the same, this subsistence farming... It seemed rather more common than he might have expected.

The early start meant he was able to ride for much of the day, only needing to stop to eat and to let his horse recover and drink at a stream. He hadn't seen anywhere that looked like an inn so far. Evidently there weren't many travellers in these parts.

He should really have asked Brunnhilde and Korg about their journeys before he set out. Had they sought shelter? Had they slept beneath the stars?

It had been a long time since he'd done that. Not since he was a young man, still able to be just another one of the junior recruits in the guards and not always a prince of the realm. He had fond recollections, for all that it had often been cold.

On the one hand, it felt dreadful to be even momentarily thinking on happy memories when Loki was potentially in mortal peril, but at the same time worrying and catastrophising wouldn't help him. He just had to get there.

Night began to fall and while Thor was keen to keep going, he knew he ought to rest properly. Being too exhausted to fight wouldn't work. And as it grew colder, the outdoors was feeling less and less appealing.

He decided to try his luck at the next house he saw, knocking on the door. At first, he thought it might be abandoned but eventually the door creaked open a tiny amount, two worried eyes peering out at him.

"Excuse me," Thor said. "I'm sorry to disturb but I seek a bed for the night. I have money."

A pause and then the door was opened more fully.

"Got food?" a croaky voice asked.

"A little."

"Mm. You can come in."

"Thank you."

He carefully tied his horse round the back of the cottage, making sure she had ample grazing, and made his way round to the front door, pack in hand.

It was a scrupulously clean little house, a scrubbed table occupying most of the room and a sort of bed in the corner. There were stairs up to an upper level, perhaps some storage, various herbs hanging from the ceiling.

"It's only bread and cheese, I'm afraid," Thor said. "And a cold meat pie. But you're welcome to it."

He wasn't sure if the person was male or female and concluded that it didn't really matter. They made some kind of tea, hot and bitter but very welcome, sitting down and methodically slicing his bread into thin pieces.

"I'm heading for the capital," Thor said. "Do you know how far it is from here?"

"Half a day's walk. Less on a horse, couple of hours maybe. Bad idea though."

Thor sipped his tea, frowning.

"Why do you say that?"

"City's cursed."

"Is it?"

"Mm. Cursed with an immortal tyrant. He has a witch kept who knows the secret to long life, keeps him alive past his time. He's over a hundred years old. Has no interests except himself and his own whims."

Another time, he'd assume these were the strange dreams of old age, but he knew what kind of man this Grand Master was. He kept people with useful powers and exploited them, killed the others. If he'd found some kind of... age defying person, they were no doubt at his personal beck and call.

"I'm going to try to fix that," Thor said, getting a worried look.

"How?"

"He's made the mistake of upsetting me. He's harmed someone very dear to me and he's not going to get away with it."

The person made an unusual sound that Thor eventually identified as laughter.

"Well, good luck to you, but unless you have an army..."

Thor smiled.

"They should pass through soon," he said.

He wasn't sure he was being believed, but he shared his meagre meal and was directed up the wooden stairs into the hayloft. It creaked a little worryingly under his weight and the blanket he was given had seen better days, but it was vastly preferable to sleeping outside.

Once he was up there alone, though, the fear really had time to distill and develop in the pit of his stomach. Where was Loki now? Was he hurt? Did he know that rescue was coming? Surely he must hope. Surely he must know...

He should have told him how he felt when he had the chance...

Bodily exhaustion and determination helped him sleep, forcing himself to count until he dropped off.

The grey skies the next morning matched his mood completely as he gratefully accepted another cup of the bitter tea.

"I'll keep an eye out for your army," his new friend said, winking, clearly teasing him.

"Maybe we'll meet again," Thor said.

"Maybe. Good luck."

Thor mounted his horse and set off once more, aware that he was going more or less into the unknown, but also knowing that he'd face anything necessary to get Loki back safely.

He had to. There wasn't any alternative.


	23. Chapter 23

The difference between the capital city and the surrounding country was stark. It loomed over the horizon, a fortress-like structure with various buildings leant against it, built from the centre outwards.

Thor wished he had time or opportunity to bathe, wanting to appear at his best and most impressive, settling for simply changing his clothes and re-braiding his hair. He was going to make as bold an entrance as he could. He'd even brought along his ceremonial cape, glad that he hadn't had to press it into service as a blanket in the night.

There weren't any guards until he approached the main complex, but his arrival already caused a stir. People openly stared at him, some reaching uncertainly for weapons. The whole atmosphere was tense and unusually grim.

Thor cantered up to the entrance and the two guards stationed there, hoping he looked suitably imposing.

"Good morning," he said with forced cheer. "I am Thor Odinson, King of Asgard, and I demand an audience with the Grand Master."

They looked at one another uncertainly and pulled on a rope, sending a series of bells ringing. And then a pause before another series of bells, like an answer.

Frowning, they opened the gates and Thor rode in, trying not to wear his wariness on his face too obviously.

The sudden opulence was almost blinding. His own ancestors had had something of a taste for gilding, giving Asgard a somewhat gaudy sheen, but it was nothing to this. It wasn't just the gold. It was the coloured glass, the gems, the silver. It was incredibly beautiful, but it also felt decidedly... off. It felt like a strange hoard of pretty things rather than any kind of curated collection. Having things solely so that others could not have them rather than appreciating them.

A silent girl appeared and took charge of his horse. Had anyone spoken yet? Was it forbidden?

He made sure he had his pack. He wasn't going to be without his weapons and food.

The interior of the palace was like nowhere he'd ever been. The whole place made him uneasy. It reminded him of a tavern he'd been to once with Fandral, the kind of establishment where the glasses stuck to the tables and the windows were covered in a layer of grime.

How such a grand palace could feel like the grimmest pub, he wasn't quite sure. And the faint sound of giggles behind closed doors didn't help with his unease.

His own court had a degree of formality, often something of a queue for petitioners. There was nothing like that here. Instead, two enormous gold doors were opened and he was shown into a hall full of couches and chaises, each one occupied by various beautiful people eating grapes and drinking even at such an early hour.

And at the end of it...

"Ah! Topaz said you would come."

Thor looked at this man, this Grand Master, and felt hatred run through his veins. He couldn't tell what age he was; the silver hair suggested a certain age, but his face and figure was that of a man in his prime. He was wearing a robe, not even properly dressed, like this room was his private chambers rather than a public arena.

Striding through the middle of the feast tables, Thor didn't deign to bow.

"You have abducted a member of my court," he said. "I am here to request his safe return."

The Grand Master sat up properly, gazing down at him.

"I have reason to believe that you are sheltering fugitives from my kingdom," he said. "And yet I doubt you are returning them in return."

Thor bit back the urge to retort that only a king could have a kingdom.

"I have no intention of being blackmailed. You sent an agent into my kingdom who committed acts of violence against my people. I will have my citizen safely returned, now."

The look that faced him was one of amusement, which irritated Thor immensely.

"What if he doesn't want to leave?" he asked.

Thor set his jaw.

"I doubt that."

The Grand Master smiled, clapping his hands abruptly.

"We have a guest," he announced. "Come. A tour, a tour."

He bustled out of the room and Thor found his arm taken, pulled towards the door.

Already he was considering violence, but perhaps not yet.

Not until he knew where Loki was being held.


	24. Chapter 24

No matter how firmly Thor pulled his arm away from the dark-haired young woman who had attached herself to him, she kept taking it. Eventually, he gave up and let her cling to him as he was led up and up and up to the outer walls of the palace.

Up here, you could see for miles, the surrounding shanty town and then the countryside beyond, and in the centre of the fortress some kind of arena.

"My domain," the Grand Master said, gesturing over it. "I trust you will stay for dinner. We shall have some sport organised."

A well-timed shove would solve a lot of problems, Thor couldn't help but think.

"I'm really just here to collect Loki and be on my way," he said.

"Ah, yes, Loki. Such an interesting young man. I first heard rumours of him some months ago. They said he lived in Northern Asgard but was often something of a nomad. I'd have to be quick, so I sent some of my helpers to collect him, to no avail. Local people told them he'd already been taken, that he was living a privileged life in the palace. And very soon after that rumour reached my ear, a high-ranking member of my guard vanished without my permission. Very curious. However, thus far, he's been so resistant to helping me. It really is dreadfully vexing."

Thor smiled grimly. He'd known it was a bluff. There was no way he would want to stay here.

"You kidnapped him from his home."

"So did you. As I understand it, you give him luxury in payment for his skills. I am offering the same, though I feel I have rather more to give. I'm a lot richer. A deal more powerful. And yet he has refused to utter more than about two words. Topaz has been very upset. It's all I can do to stop her damaging him."

Thor fists clenched, being led around the edge of the walls.

"Release him," he said. "I will not ask again."

The man turned on his heel in a flurry of fabric.

"No," he said. "I know you won't. How is he feeling?"

Thor's confusion only grew when the woman on his arm began speaking in a soft voice.

"He's very angry, my lord," she said. "Frustrated. A little afraid."

"Hm. Put him to sleep."

Thor tried to struggle away when she reached up to him, laying a hand on the side of his head. But then he was very tired. His eyelids drooped, a strange fog filling his head, feeling his knees giving way.

He woke up in some kind of prison cell missing his shirt and pack but still with the woman. He was lying on a slab, not exactly comfortable, sitting up immediately and trying to get some distance between them only to find himself chained to the wall.

"Stay back," he growled. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't have a choice."

Thor looked her over carefully, the way she held herself with her shoulders turned in, the way she was instinctively looking down at the floor, and believed her. As he had suspected, some of the people working for the Grand Master were here against their will.

"Where's Loki?" he asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that I'm to take charge of you, send you back to sleep if you become too rowdy."

Rowdy... He'd show them rowdy...

"What's to be done with me?" Thor asked. "What purpose does he have in mind?"

"Leverage," she whispered. "He doesn't want to harm his new soothsayer, but you... If Loki cares for you, then..."

"I'm expendable," Thor said grimly. "They can hurt me instead."

She nodded, looking thoroughly broken and for a moment he considered telling her that help was coming, that soon his army would march upon Sakaar, that they would rescue her.

But he didn't. He couldn't be sure that no one was listening or that she could be trusted.

For the moment, he would bide his time.


	25. Chapter 25

"You can put people to sleep, then?" Thor asked when the silence had stretched out too long.

"I feel emotions. I can tell how you feel with just a touch. And I can quiet the mind so well that you just... forget that you have reasons to stay awake. I'm lucky. I'm useful. It's the only reason I'm still alive."

"Yes. I've heard about that. Being cut up to see how you work."

She shuddered, hugging her knees where she was sat on the floor. She had a thin mattress and blanket, like she was expected to sleep on the floor and watch over him.

"It's the only reason I'm doing this," she said softly. "Self-preservation. I'm sure you must think I'm terribly selfish."

"Not at all. Choices involving death are no choice at all. If you're dead, what other good can you do? I do wonder why you haven't put him to sleep and cut his throat though."

She let out a little squeak of shock, like she couldn't believe he'd said such a thing. She really was terrified.

"You mustn't say things like that," she said. "Mustn't think them. He'll find out."

"Why not? I'm for the chopping block anyway, unless someone helps me."

"Maybe not," she said. "I think he finds you too amusing to rush your death. Can you fight?"

Thor looked at her suspiciously.

"Why? What does have to do with anything?"

"He loves his sport."

Ah. He'd be put into that arena, forced to fight for this sadistic man's pleasure while Loki...

His hands clenched into fists at even the thought. Everything he and Loki had done together had been mutual. Even at the start when he was a prisoner, when it had been purely transactional, it had been consensual. If Loki had refused, he would never have touched him. This man, this self-described Grand Master, knew only force and coercion.

And besides, perhaps Thor could hope that Loki felt the same way that he did.

He really should have told him.

Right. No point in moping. Information was going to be key. Despite his chains, Thor tried to get a sense of where he was being held. Beyond the bars, he could see a corridor, some other doors leading off it. The rooms all seemed empty, though. No light from any of them.

"Say someone did attack the Grand Master," he said. "What would happen to them?"

"It couldn't happen. He has guards."

"How loyal are they? Willing to die for him?"

"Being on his personal staff is extremely prestigious. They live very comfortable, luxurious lives. And if he were to survive an assassination attempt and he felt they had not defended him sufficiently... I think they would beg for death before the end."

Thor knew some people at home were afraid of him, but he didn't enjoy the idea of ruling by fear alone. And certainly not with threats of torture.

He was a little surprised that they hadn't already come to hurt him yet. They seemed keen to bore him to death.

He sat staring out of the bars of the cell, plotting exactly what he would do when his captor returned.

Except it wasn't him. It was Loki, stepping uncertainly down the corridor, dressed in a strange dark tunic and heavy cuffs, gazing in at him with horror.

"Thor!"

The chain wasn't long enough to let them reach even to touch fingers, another additional cruelty.

"I'm alright," Thor said. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to get us both out of here."

"How?"

"I'm working on it, don't worry."

Loki let out something between a laugh and a sob.

"You shouldn't have come. You should have just forgotten me."

"Don't give in to him, Loki. Be strong and hold out no matter what they do. I can take anything."

"No..."

"Yes. Because I love you. And I should have told you that before."

"That's enough," a gruff voice said from somewhere Thor couldn't see. "You have your proof. We have him. You should consider your options."

"Don't do it, Loki," Thor said. "Be strong. I promise, we'll get out of here. I love you."

"Love you too."

He was alive and unhurt so far. And freedom would come soon enough.

They brought him food, his minder encouraging him to eat.

"It's not poisoned, is it?" he asked.

"I think that would take the sport out of it."

Ah. The arena.

He ate. He needed all the strength he could get.


	26. Chapter 26

Thor even did some light lunges, limbering up as well as he could with such limited space and mobility, trying to make sure he wasn't going to suffer from any stiffness.

He wasn't expecting weapons, surprised when a selection was brought in, knives and axes and poles. Thor weighed up a few of them before selecting two wooden staves. No metal, not with Topaz around. He wasn't going to give himself any disadvantage knowingly.

"Can I have the binds removed?" he asked the arms master. "They'll rather impede me. I fear that I won't put on so good of a show."

"I've been specifically told to leave them on."

Hmm. And no armour at all. Thor swung his twin weapons thoughtfully, trying to get a feel for their weight.

"Who is my opponent?" he asked.

No response. He turned to his keeper, looking at her expectantly. She seemed to be an unwilling participant here. She'd help him perhaps.

"He will want to test you," she said. "He'll start small and then build to a finale."

He should brace himself for a long battle then. And in the back of his mind as he was led to the arena, he was considering that these people were probably like him, prisoners forced to fight. As such, he'd do his level best not to kill them.

The crowd noise reached him through heavy wooden doors, stamping of feet and yelling and then the Grand Master's voice above it all.

"He calls himself a king, but I think he'll bleed like any other. Please give a proper Sakaaran welcome to Thor of Asgard."

He would not play along with this charade. He strode out into the sand-covered arena, not even acknowledging the jeers and shouts, just looking for Loki.

In the highest box, of course, sitting so primly, so unlike his usual relaxed self. Worried. Scared. Topaz was there too, looking bored more than anything.

Thor waved, giving him a grim nod. It would be well. Don't give in.

There seemed to be a long time before another door opened, bellows echoing from the other side, Thor tensing up in readiness.

A bull. Huge and pawing at the ground, clearly enraged and frightened. This was cruel, but at least it wasn't a person. He could handle this. He'd try to make it quick.

He knew the exact moment the beast caught sight of him, letting out a low roar, beginning to snort, sizing him up. Its horns would easily cause him a lot of damage, especially with no armour.

Right. Stay alive. Try not to get hurt.

He dodged the first charge, stepping aside at the last moment, hearing a gasp ring out. It was an intimidating creature, saliva frothing from its mouth as it passed him. He could feel the heat from its flesh even.

Its hooves kicked up clouds of sand as it tried to stop quickly, letting out a howl of frustration.

It gave him an idea though.

He sprinted across the arena as best he could on the loose surface, standing almost against the wall, raising his staves over his head and banging them together.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Come on. Over here!"

_Bang, bang, bang, bang..._

To his surprise, some of the crowd took on his rhythm, making it echo and reverberate, a wall of noise that made the bull yell and swing its head, clearly agitated. Dangerous.

This was either going to work extremely well or get him killed.

Trying to keep his heart rate under control, Thor watched as the bull lowered its head and charged him again, waiting until the last possible moment...

He dived to the left, hearing the horrible thud as the bull hit the wall, leaping to his feet and scrabbling to get to it while it was slightly stunned.

Probably unwisely, he leapt onto the beast's back, looping the chain of his cuffs around its neck and hauling, hoping he'd be able to make it pass out, feeling awful for doing it. The bull lurched upwards, staggering a little, seeming confused.

It didn't buck him off. It was baffled by this turn of events, but it even seemed strangely calm.

"It's alright," Thor said, patting it vaguely, letting the chain go slack. "Whoa, there."

It wasn't the easiest thing he'd ever ridden, nothing at all like a horse, but he focussed on trying to keep it relaxed.

He felt his cuffs heating, hurriedly unlooping the chain from the bull's flesh, glaring up to where Topaz had a hand outstretched towards him. Trying to hurt it, trying to make it panic. Thor watched as the Grand Master pushed her wrist down, the metal cooling instantly as he stood up.

"Impressive," he said. "Evidently we'll have to work harder to challenge this one. Clear the arena, set up the next contest."

Thor steered the bull with gentle taps of his staves over to the open doors, back into an enclosure, leaping out of it as quickly as he could and breathing a sigh of relief. He'd survived. And the bull would live another night, at least.

He expected to be taken back to his cell, but instead the arms master simply dragged him by the chain back to the door he'd entered originally.

Another fight. He rolled his shoulders, dusted himself off and hoped that Sif and the other soldiers would arrive sooner rather than later.

He couldn't keep this up forever.


	27. Chapter 27

Thor had killed people before. It wasn't a part of his life that he enjoyed thinking about. He'd been on a trip towards the western seas and he and his companions had been set upon by bandits. In the ensuing fight, he had killed at least two men.

It hadn't disturbed him until several years later. A sense of guilt, of regret. Wondering if he could have handled it differently.

They would have killed him if he hadn't killed them. That was what he told himself anyway. In reality, if they had known who he was, they would probably have held him for ransom.

Eventually, when he was allowed to stagger back to his cell from the arens, he'd managed to avoid adding to his total. He'd fought three men, managing to incapacitate but not kill. And, of course, he'd taken quite a beating. He had a particularly bad gash on his arm from his last battle, bleeding sluggishly. It needed stitched, he thought.

He'd been gifted, wearing cuffs like his. His speed had been astonishing, not just fast but powerfully so. Thor had to predict and feint and then strike where he would be.

When he'd knocked the man to the ground, possibly breaking his collarbone by the way one of his arms had gone limp, he'd heard him quietly begging for death under his breath.

It was going to haunt him, Thor could feel it. And he couldn't help but wonder exactly what was going to happen to him that he feared so much.

"I need healing," he announced to the room at large as he flopped down on the cell slab.

He wasn't particularly surprised that his keeper put him to sleep, letting him wake up hours later, hungry and with his wound neatly bandaged.

"Did you patch me up?" he asked, his throat dry and croaky.

"You're to eat at the Grand Master's table. Come."

Still in cuffs, still without a shirt, but at least he'd see Loki perhaps.

What time was it? Had a night gone by? Or was this just late in the evening.

"What's your name, by the way?" he asked as they were led through the palace by silent guards.

She looked surprised to be asked.

"Mantis."

"Mm. I'm Thor. Pleased to meet you."

At least it wasn't in that awful hall. He'd had quite enough of being gaped at for a while. Instead it was a more private affair, a gold table dominating a room with tall, thin windows of coloured glass.

Loki was not there, to Thor's disappointment. He'd have taken great strength just from seeing him.

On the other hand, the Grand Master was there, sipping something sickly smelling.

"The champion awakes," he said. "Sit, sit."

Mantis remained standing awkwardly by the door, her hands clasped in front of her. Thor flopped into a chair, making no effort to hide his disdain.

"I was very impressed by your determination today," the Grand Master said. "I had thought to simply kill you once you'd outlived your usefulness, but perhaps you'd be better alive. The crowd loved you. Very entertaining."

Thor glowered at him.

"Release me, release Loki and perhaps I'll let you live," he said.

The laughter only fueled his anger.

"Oh, very good. He really didn't like seeing you hurt. Not at all. And yet I still have no visions of the future to show for my trouble. If he has an emotional stimulus, it isn't fear or sadness. Or pain. It seems he may be quite useless to me. Perhaps I'll have to dispose of him."

It wasn't the most convincing performance Thor had ever seen.

"You're bluffing," he said. "You went to a lot of trouble to take him. You wouldn't give up so soon, so easily. Besides, aren't you immortal? You have time."

"If I'm immortal, why threaten to kill me?"

"Immortal. Not invulnerable."

If anything, he seemed amused, leaning on his elbow and tapping his fingers against his cheekbone.

"You seem to know rather more about me than I know about you," he said. "It's true that one of my dear friends has the ability to reverse the ravages of time. What else have you surmised?"

Thor considered that question carefully.

"This much wealth cannot be accumulated without some kind of industry and yet I have seen none on my journey here. Perhaps you keep an alchemist or similar, someone who can spirit gold from anything. You have a torturer. You have an emotion reader. Presumably there are others too. And also you're incredibly stupid."

It probably wasn't exactly intelligent to insult him, but Thor couldn't resist, grinning as his face fell.

"If my lover were a prisoner, I don't think I would say such things to the one holding him."

"I would not take a king's lover prisoner and not expect sone consequences."

"You're my prisoner too. And I don't doubt that your loyal troops are already on their way. But they will not penetrate this fortress. Many have tried. All have failed."

Thor simply smiled at him.

"I was under the impression that I was going to be fed," he said.

A snap of fingers and attendants appeared through the door almost instantly, placing five plates on the table. The Grand Master clicked his tongue at Mantis, like she was a dog, until she hesitantly took a seat at Thor's side. Keeping her distance..

Behind him, the door opened once more and Loki was pushed in, Topaz following him.

"Thor!"

Based on his reaction, he must look terrible. He certainly had a number of aches and he was fairly sure that he must have some swelling around his left eye but, well, it could have been worse.

They didn't let them sit together, but being at the same table was enough. Loki had not been physically harmed and Sif would arrive with troops soon. All they had to do was survive.

Admittedly, he should probably stop being quite so flippant and focus on getting through, but he couldn't resist it.

And at least the food was good. Or at least he was hungry enough not to care.


	28. Chapter 28

"I can quite see why you find him desirable," the Grand Master said conversationally, twirling a finger into Loki's hair. "Men aren't always to my taste, but there is a grace here, isn't there?"

This was dangerous. Thor couldn't be sure if it was a whim or just an attempt to needle him or a real risk. Loki had gone a strange colour, putting his fork down. Thor idly tested how sharp his knife was and found it disappointingly blunt.

He forced himself to shrug.

"He's free to sleep with whomever he chooses. I don't own him."

The hand that had been reaching out stopped in midair and withdrew, a huffed sigh.

"Well, it's no fun if it won't even upset you," the Grand Master said.

Thor tried not to show his relief. It was too big a risk for the secret to be discovered by mistake.

Then again, this seemed like the kind of man who would use someone for his pleasure and not think of their desires at all. He could probably take Loki to his bed and still not learn the truth.

He tried not to flinch as Mantis touched his arm. Checking him, testing him for lying. But she could read emotions. She couldn't read his thoughts.

"He's... amused," she said, a little hint of a giggle in her voice.

"That's an odd reaction."

"I can't help it," Thor said. "All this theatricality. It's hilarious. I mean, what is it that you actually want? You clearly have more wealth than you know what to do with. You rule with cruelty and fear, so you have no love from your people. You're immortal, so everyone you've ever cared for must have long ago aged and died; I suppose you could keep them alive, but you don't exactly strike me as a long-term kind of person."

"And that amuses you?"

"It amuses me that you seem so proud of it. All that time, all that power and all you've done is cause misery. You haven't achieved anything. You haven't learned anything."

"On the contrary, boy, I have learned a great deal. My experiments grow more and more fruitful. In time, I may even be able to induce gifts in the unborn. Useful ones, of course, not circus tricks or passing fancies. Maybe that's what I should use our mutual friend for. Perhaps his brain contains the secret."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"Perhaps. Do you have one for me in return?"

Maybe it was the bloodloss, maybe it was just a build up of anger, but Thor lunged across the table instead, sending plates flying, throwing his whole weight onto the Grand Master and wrapping his chain around his neck, pulling hard.

It was never going to work. Thor estimated he'd had enough time to cause a nasty bruise before that horrible burning feeling filled his veins, sapping his strength, and then the blessed cool of Mantis's hands as she put him to sleep.

He woke up back in the cell, cold food waiting for him.

"What happened?" he croaked.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Mantis said. "He finds it fun to toy with you now, but soon he'll tire of you."

Thor tried to glare at her, but didn't manage terribly well.

"If you had helped, we could have had him," he said. "You could have taken Topaz out of the equation."

"She'd have killed me."

Maybe. When dealing with such powers, you needed all the help you could get.

Despite the indignity, Thor ate what remained of his dinner with his hands, pondering. Topaz was the real threat, but he wasn't totally convinced that she was blindly loyal. There had to be more to it.

Either way, if she was knocked out, he could dispatch the Grand Master easily, he was sure. Take out the head and he felt the rest of Sakaar would fall. There was surely little loyalty to a man who paid no attention to most of his people.

"How did Loki react?" he asked.

"I don't think he's doing very well. They don't want to cause him physical harm, but there are other ways to bend a will. And you're not helping by getting yourself hurt. He only speaks to beg for your freedom."

"Well, I won't give up until Loki is free and will bring my army to get it. They can't release me. And Loki won't give up his secrets while I'm being held. It's a battle of wills that I intend to win."

"It will get you killed."

Thor shook his head. How long had it been? He'd ridden for a day, spent the night on the road, and now surely another day and night had passed at least. He expected Sif and the might of his guards to arrive in three to four days, certainly within a week.

"I just have to keep him interested for long enough."

He stretched out on his slab once more, his muscles aching from so much exertion. He heard Mantis sigh. And maybe he felt a little bad. She was trying to help.

"I'll get you out of here," he said. "I promise."

"You have no idea how much I wish I could believe that."


	29. Chapter 29

Thor knew he must have dozed, his first bit of natural sleep since he'd arrived, because the next thing he knew, he was being woken up and taken across the corridor to a different locked room, a smaller one, with a tub of hot water.

Privacy, at last. There was a wall in the main cell to shield the chamber pot, but he assumed that was more for Mantis's comfort than his own.

This dungeon was curious though, he thought as he finally washed away the sweat and grime of the last few days. There had to be people being held somewhere, the Grand Master's victims, the other gifted people and the gladiators, and yet he hadn't seen anyone so far. Was this corridor exclusive in some way? Was this usually some kind of communal bath?

He felt much better for having clean hair, much more human somehow. There was a degree of dignity here. More if he had a shirt perhaps, but at least it was something.

Mantis had also had time to bathe and change, it seemed, and someone had brought her a book.

"Where is everyone?" Thor asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"There are people held to be forced to fight. There are people held because they have abilities that are useful. This dungeon should be full to bursting. Where are they all?"

"Well, this is my section. I'm lucky that I get it to all to myself. Most people share."

"Your section? You mean you live here? This is your bed?"

"I don't mind you using it. Most of the palace is dungeon. There's the Grand Master's private rooms, the great hall, the guard barracks and then the rest of it is all more or less like this, wings separated into locked corridors. For keeping people."

"How do you know? You've seen it?"

"I help people sleep," she said, worrying the corner of a page between her thumb and finger. "Sometimes they need people to sleep."

Thor was still rather confused.

"But those courtiers downstairs, where do they sleep?"

"Some come in from outside. As far as I know, the others just sleep on the couches in the great hall. It's warm in there. There's food. That's all they want."

"And you're held prisoner here, all alone?"

"Until I'm needed, yes. It's not so bad. Usually I have free range of this little wing. I have my wash room, a collection of books, a little weaving loom. It could be a lot worse."

"But are you allowed to leave the fortress? Are you allowed to go about your own business? How did he even find you?"

It almost seemed difficult for her to remember. Like it had all happened a long time ago, even though she was so young.

"I was a quiet child. And I had a lot of brothers and sisters. My mother told me that even when they were babies, I could touch them and know if they were scared or unhappy or if it was something else. We didn't know why, but I could. In time, I learned that I could soothe them to sleep. Soon all the families round about came to me when their children were teething or refusing to go to bed. And then one day, the soldiers came. They told me that the Grand Master needed me. And I've been here ever since."

"How old were you?"

"I'm not sure. I don't remember."

Thor didn't really believe that. She was just trying to spare him. He had a sneaking suspicion that she must have still been a young child, taken from her family and brought to this place of violence and fear, made to see even the slightest kindness as a boon.

A guard's arrival wasn't too surprising, though Thor was paying a lot more attention to his surroundings now. Every door they passed potentially had a prisoner's suite behind it, another little collection of rooms waiting for someone "useful" to be discovered.

One of them was no doubt earmarked for Loki to be kept in.

The layout of the palace confused him. Every time he thought they must be deep underground, they would take another set of stairs downwards or there would be a window, every time he was sure they must have walked right through the whole palace circumference, there would be another corridor, maybe with a slight upwards slope, putting them on a different level almost imperceptibly. It seemed almost designed to get people lost.

Eventually, he was pushed into a circular room with a gold altar in the centre of it. Unusual. Almost like a temple of some kind. There was a shaft of light that seemed to come from very high up, like some kind of enormously tall chimney.

Out of the corner of his eye, she saw Mantis trembling, her hands shaking.

"What is it?" Thor asked, only getting an urgent shake of her head.

"Oh," the Grand Master said from somewhere Thor couldn't see, somewhere high up in the shadows. "I thought you knew. Since you're so interested in my experiments, I thought you might want to see one close up. Don't worry, Mantis, we won't need you. He's already dead."

Revulsion rose in Thor's throat as he recognised the body brought in. It was the last man he'd fought, the fast one who had begged for death. And now he had his wish.

"How did you kill him?" Thor asked, trying his best to sound neutral.

"Oh, I don't do any of it myself. I merely observe and dictate. Bodies are far too... gloopy and foul for my liking."

"Very well, how did you have him killed?"

"Despite many investigations of the brain, the heart and other organs, I am yet to find any definitive physical difference between those with abilities and those without. There surely must be one. I wondered if perhaps it's in the blood, so I took his. For best results. I ought to compare it to someone else's."

"You won't harm Loki. He's too potentially valuable."

"Of course not. But, as an ordinary man, your blood would be the perfect comparison. Mantis, put him to sleep."

Her voice shook, cracking.

"No," she said. "No, I won't do it."

A horrible pause.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I... I don't want to do this anymore. I won't do it."

"Then I suppose he'll be conscious right up until he loses too much blood and you can watch. Remember that it was your choice. Fetch the restraints."

Thor put up a fight. By his estimation, he broke at least one guard's nose, maybe a jaw. But he was outnumbered and already chained, ending up on that horrible gold table, the bright light blinding him as he reflected on how he really hadn't expected things to end like this, dying slowly in a strange land, what is parents would think, what Sif would do when she arrived and found him already dead...

"Stop!" Loki called. "I'll do it. I'll tell your future. Just don't hurt him anymore."

Thor hadn't even known he was in the room, but then again, it made sense. This was more than a threat. It was all about forcing Loki into giving his power over.

"Loki, don't," Thor panted through a mouthful of blood.

"Shut up, Thor! I'm saving your life."

But damning himself to a man who wouldn't care about him, wouldn't treat him as a thinking being.

"He's come to his senses, King of Asgard," the Grand Master said. "I expect you to come to yours. Take him away. And separate him from Mantis. Clearly he's a bad influence."

No more cell with a slab. No more window.

Thor found himself in near total darkness, seemingly put away in an oubliette. Left to sit in the dark and think of Loki upstairs, sacrificing himself for his life.

They were quite a pair really.

He wept. He couldn't help it. He'd tried so hard to protect Loki and then he'd turned out to be his biggest vulnerability. Salt burned his injuries where his tears hit them.

The sound of a door opening shook him, unable to tell how much time had passed, squinting out into the darkness. A guard? Food? Death?

"Who's there?" he asked, his voice so ragged, like he'd aged a hundred years in just a few hours.

A flare of light. Too bright in this darkness.

And not from any candle.


	30. Chapter 30

"Your majesty?"

"Brunnhilde?"

The light faded somewhat until her face was illuminated a little, but not as painfully bright to Thor's eyes.

To his amazement, she seemed to have keys, feeling her way to the huge lock of his cell, trying to find the right one.

"How are you here?" Thor asked. "How do you have keys?"

"I was a captain. I always had keys. I'm surprised they didn't have new locks made, but then again I doubt they expected me to come back."

"But how did you get in? The guards on the gate..."

"Used to be my junior officers, used to taking orders from me. And besides, they're about to be a bit busy with Sif marching into town."

Thor hauled himself to his feet, staggering slightly.

"We need to get to Loki. It may already be too late, but as long as he's alive... And there was a woman, Mantis, I think she might be in danger too."

"Alright. Korg will go with you to help with Topaz, I'm going to get anyone friendly out of the cells and I'll keep an eye out for her."

Just as she said that, a long series of bells began to ring, starting far away but getting closer.

"Ah. Sif's arrived. Go get Loki. We'll catch up soon enough."

Thor seized her hand in his, letting her guide him out of the darkness.

"Thank you," he said. "Good luck."

"And you."

He wasn't totally sure why Korg had come with her. He was not a fighter by any means. But he was a local. He'd been in this fortress, he knew his way around. Probably. Maybe.

After several minutes of following him through the palace, Thor became less and less sure that he did.

"You do know where we're going, right?" Thor asked.

"Of course. These are the old servant corridors. We're much less likely to bump into anyone we don't want to meet back here. With any luck, we can be in and out before they know it."

He stopped behind a door, holding up a hand to halt Thor in his tracks, listening intently. He put a finger to his lips before easing it open a tiny amount and letting Thor peer through.

Topaz was there, looking frazzled, the Grand Master emerging from a room, hurriedly tying his robe. Thor was only a little gratified to see the bruising around his throat.

He couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but he caught the odd word. Things like "gone" and "at the gate" and "traitors."

Korg held him back for a few moments after they'd left, waiting to be absolutely sure they were gone, able to have that detachment that Thor usually prided himself on but was losing with the knowledge that Loki was probably only a matter of steps away.

The moment he was able to, he sprinted down the corridor, every muscle of his body complaining, trying to open the door.

It wasn't even locked.

Even in here, everything was gold and velvet, furniture that would be beautiful if it had been looked after more carefully, a bed against one wall with a distinct lump in the middle of it.

Thor rushed over, laying a hand on Loki's shoulder.

"No, please..." came a quiet voice. "Please, I can't..."

"It's me," Thor said. "Loki, it's me. We're getting out."

There was a pause and then Loki rolled over in a flash, his arms wrapping around Thor instantly, clinging to him so tightly. He was shaking and sobbing and for a moment all Thor could do was hold him.

"I'm sorry," Loki said. "I'm sorry."

"It's going to be alright. Can you walk?"

He could, but he had no clothes. Thor tore down one of the bed hangings, all find golden embroidery, at least managing to make a sort of wrap to preserve his dignity.

There were marks on his body that someone was going to pay for if Thor had anything to do with it.

"I couldn't even see anything, you know," Loki murmured as Thor looped a curtain tie around his waist to hold everything in place as a sort of belt.

"What do you mean?"

"It felt the same but it was all... empty. I couldn't make anything out. Just darkness. No matter how many times..."

Hmm. Odd.

They'd deal with that later. Right now, they just had to get out.

Which would be a lot easier if they hadn't opened the door directly into Topaz's face.


	31. Chapter 31

Topaz had just about enough time to look surprised before Korg barrelled into her from the side, grabbing her hands and wrenching them behind her back.

And then he turned to stone.

It all happened so fast that Thor was too nonplussed to react, just staring as she tried to wrench herself free, struggling on top of what was now effectively a marble statue.

"Guards!" she yelled. "Guards!"

No one came. And in the ensuing silence, they could perhaps just hear the distant sound of yells and weapons striking. All the guards were otherwise occupied.

Topaz seemed to reach that conclusion just a moment before Thor did, glowering at him, clearly concentrating. Straining, a vein in her head bulging.

Maybe he felt a little warmth, but nothing more than that. She needed her hands free. Restrained like this, she was no threat.

She slumped, her breath heavy, baring her neck.

"Go on, then," she said. "Kill me."

Thor looked down at her and felt nothing but pity. She was cruel, certainly, but given the place she lived, was that really surprising? He liked to think that there was potential for anyone to change.

Besides, death felt like rather an easy way out.

"This is not my kingdom," Thor said. "It's not for me to decide what happens to criminals. Korg, if you can hear me, we'll be back soon."

Loki was still in a bad way, seeming rather dazed now that the shock had set in, almost swaying, holding Thor's wrist. He couldn't go into battle like this. Ideally, he wouldn't be put at any risk at all.

Thor took his hand, trying to remember the way to anywhere potentially safe. They were halfway down a staircase when he heard Brunnhilde above him.

"I found your friend," she called.

"Is she alright?"

"Not really, but she will be. Time to head for the roof. Come on."

"The roof? Why?"

"Tactics. Come on."

Between the two of them and their injuries, it took a while, but eventually they managed to get up the stairs, up to that outer walkway over the arena that Thor had seen when he first arrived.

Holding onto the wall, Thor peered down onto a scene of some chaos. The Asgardian troops were more or less surrounded, their backs against one side of the arena, but they didn't seem concerned about that. It was almost like they wanted to be there.

"What are you doing?" Thor asked. "This is practically suicide."

"Close," Brunnhilde said. "But not quite. It's Sakaar. And everything here is theatre. Don't worry. I'm quietly confident."

They were approximately equally matched in numbers, the Sakaar guards flooding into the arena from all sides.

Nearly all sides, anyway. His fighters had their back to him, the heavy doors behind them firmly closed.

Thor's eyes found Sif in amongst the throng, battling hard against multiple foes, beating them back, but seeming distracted. She kept glancing behind her, every time she had so much as a split second. Like she was watching something else.

Brunnhilde was watching too, calculating, raising her hands, waiting, waiting, waiting...

"Now!"

Her palms were suddenly ablaze with light, shining all around, blinding, Thor having to turn away and only hear the shouts of confusion, strange scraping noises, finally managing to open his eyes again and - once the after images had cleared - find that the doors opposite had been closed and the Asgardians were now pouring out of the arena through the doors behind them, leaving the Sakaarans blinded, baffled and stunned. Trapped.

A diversion, but why?

"You're not going to pour boiling oil on them or something are you?" Thor asked.

"Of course not," Brunnhilde said. "I'm going to offer them a way out."

With that, she calmly made her way round to the high box, the Grand Master's private seating area complete with the horn he used for announcements.

"Hello," she said, wincing at the volume of her voice. "Uh... Some of you might know me. My name is Brunnhilde. I used to live here. I fled my home because I was in fear for my life. Some of you will have worked in the prison, the cells, the surgical theatre. You'll have heard that the people held there have strange powers, that they're dangerous. Well... Well, some of them are, but that's true of all groups of people, not just them."

She was being pragmatic, but so far there just seemed to be confusion.

"Anyway," she said, making one of her hands glow, far more gently. "I'm... I'm one of them. And I'm also one of you. And I've come here to free the King of Asgard and all other people unfairly held in this palace. Sakaar doesn't have to be like this. It could be better. And I know some of you agree."

There was still suspicion in the air, shuffling of feet.

"So, if you want to throw down your arms, we can talk about this," Brunnhilde said. "If you'd rather die, then so be it. I just wonder how many of you really think our duke is worth your life."

Thor's heart was somewhere around the pit of his stomach as he waited.

And then there was a clatter. Someone throwing off their armour. And another and another. Sif emerged by his side, out of breath from running up the stairs, taking a moment to stop and lean and stare as one by one and then in a flood, the palace guards took off their helmets, a sea of faces all gazing up at Brunnhilde, really with her. Wanting to stop. Wanting to think and consider and change things.

"No!" a shriek rang out. "No, I forbid this! Traitors will be executed!"

Thor had rather lost track of where the Grand Master actually was, but now he knew. Over at the other side of the arena, shaking with rage as he marched round towards Brunnhilde. Loki clung to Thor's side urgently, not trembling anymore. More like extremely angry.

He looked ridiculous really. He'd put on some armour but it was all wrong. It wasn't a soldier's outfit but a vain imitation of that, all filigree and decoration. Armour for looking good, not for practicality.

Thor began making his way round to the horn as well. He knew now what he was going to do.

"Thor?" Loki said warily, coming with him.

"Don't worry. I'm going to make your prophecy come true."

Once he was in close enough range, he called out more loudly.

"A contest. A fair contest. I challenge you, Grand Master, to single combat. No assistance, no tricks. Just you and me, one on one."

A scoff. He wasn't entirely stupid. He hadn't got to where he was by being reckless.

"Think on it," Thor said quietly. "Think of the glory of beating me in front of all your people, all these doubters. I'm already injured. It shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"This is a trick."

"No tricks. You can even choose the weapons."

It was an open appeal to ego, a blatant goading. And there was something else he could play on too.

"And think how it will look if you refuse my challenge. Think how weak you'll look..."

There were a few seconds and then the Grand Master shoved Brunnhilde aside.

"Single combat! Let's see exactly who rules Sakaar - me or this interloper."

Cheering rang out. Theatre. Everything was theatre.

And Thor intended to put on quite the show.


	32. Chapter 32

Thor didn't think he was being overly confident to think that he had rather more experience with weapons than his opponent did. They had cleared the arena, the Sakaaran and Asgardian soldiers sitting together in the stands in an awkward truce.

The Grand Master selected a bladed whip chain for himself. Stupid. All show, no control unless in the hands of a skilled user. Thor was glad of the wooden sword he was given instead. At least it would have a chance of being useful.

He made his way round to the familiar arena door, stepping out to thunderous applause. At the other end, the Grand Master was playing to the crowd, spinning his chain whip, his armour gleaming in the sun.

"Thor!" he heard behind him, turning immediately, finding Loki leaning over the wall to reach down to him with something in his hand.

A lock of his hair. He must have asked Sif to cut it off for him, a little shorn area just by his temple.

"For luck," he said as Thor jumped up to take it, hurriedly braiding it into his hair.

"I love you," Thor said.

"Don't get hurt."

He had no intention to. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do exactly, but he'd find out. Reacting was possibly easier than trying to plan for the unknown.

A bell rang out. Thor wasn't quite sure who rang it, but the quiet that fell afterwards could only mean one thing. Time to fight. For Asgard. For Loki.

At first, they circled each other. Thor was trying to be cautious. He didn't have a blade after all and precious little defence.

"All this for a useless soothsayer," the Grand Master said. "A good enough lay, but no more than that. Certainly not worth dying for."

"He needs to climax to see the future," Thor said. "If you failed to achieve that..."

"On the contrary. He seemed like he needed it. Perhaps he's not been properly satisfied in some time."

Verbal barbs, but nothing more. Eventually, the Grand Master swung his chain whip in an overhead arc, Thor having to step out of the way and let it land harmlessly beside him. The flick back was quite... skillful though.

"You know how to use that," Thor said.

"Of course. I have learned a few things over the last hundred years."

He spun it in a quick figure eight pattern, almost like a dance, the blades on the edge glinting with obvious threat. It was impressive. Almost hypnotic.

But also predictable. There was a rhythm, and that meant if he timed it right...

With a jerking motion, Thor struck his wooden sword into the path at what he hoped was just the right time, trying to loop it round his weapon and neutralise it.

No such luck, but it did spin wildly back and rattle off the Grand Master's helmet. It would have scratched up his face without that protection and seemed to shake him a little. No more total control.

Right. He needed to get the upper hand, needed to do something spectacular.

He decided to take more initiative, be a little more offensive. With his simple clothes, he was more mobile despite his injuries, moving from side to side, trying to be surprising. He was keeping an eye on those blades, not exactly keen to find out just how sharp they were.

He just needed an opening...

It came from a feint, moving one way and then instantly back the other, noticing a chance for a kick. He caught the Grand Master's calf, knocking his knee aside with a crack, setting him stumbling.

Thor leapt on him instantly, trying to keep him down, hearing gasps and shouts from the crowd, striking with his wooden sword, yelling with each one and trying to get the helmet off.

He managed that, but lost his balance in the process, falling onto his back but managing to hold on, ending up wrapping his arm awkwardly around the Grand Master's neck, choking him, their feet slipping through the sand as he struggled.

"You can yield," Thor grunted. "Take imprisonment."

"Never."

He could barely speak, ceasing his kicking, but bringing his chain whip up in front of him, pulling it tight like a garrote between his hands.

In a flash, Thor realised what he planned to do, time almost seeming to slow as the blades came down and he hurriedly moved his arm away.

He didn't see the cut. He knew what had happened though. He could tell from the reaction of the crowd and the sudden wetness, the smell of blood. He'd tried to slice Thor's arm and had instead cut his own throat.

Thor pushed his body off, realising with a degree of horror that he was not yet dead. Not quite, but there was no saving him.

There was no glory here. Not really. A messy fight, a mistake, a bit of luck. Thor wasn't sorry to see him die, but he wasn't exactly overjoyed either.

He knelt in the sand, waiting until the Grand Master's eyes glazed over, his choked breathing ceasing. And then he stood up and began staggering towards the door. He didn't want to look. Barely heard the crowd begin to cheer for him.

He felt almost numb. He'd done it. He'd killed him. No more future for him.

So now what?

Wait... Topaz. They'd left her with Korg.

He ran through the palace in what he thought was the right direction, finally managing to stumble onto the right staircase and get to that cursed corridor.

Korg was sitting on the top step, Mantis beside him. She looked dreadful, a purplish bruise on her face, but also calm, relaxed. Topaz was unconscious and tied up behind them.

Korg looked at him with wide eyes, nervous.

"It went quiet for a bit there," he said carefully.

Thor blinked. Feeling very far away.

"He's dead," he said.

"What... What, _dead_ dead?"

"Think so. This is his blood on me. Most of it."

His brain caught up a little bit, trying to work out what needed to happen next.

"We need a cell for her," he said. "Somewhere without metal. And... And we need to free everyone and we need to..."

A hand on his shoulder, a gentle touch, and then one word.

"Thor."

That voice... It cut through everything, so comforting, turning round to find Loki, still in his makeshift clothes, all concern and love.

Thor pulled him into his arms, struggling to get enough air into his lungs, inhaling against his hair. Just wanting to hold him, to know he was safe and alive.

And knowing that no one would ever hurt him again.


	33. Chapter 33

To Thor's relief, Sif and Brunnhilde took charge of everything. He was still rather dazed, a little far away. Both he and Loki got their own clothes back at least, a little dignity. He wasn't sure why they'd been kept, but that didn't matter. It was a tiny bit of normality.

He didn't want to be in the palace any more. He wanted to be outside, in the open air. But he couldn't leave. He knew he couldn't. Not just yet.

Instead, he and Loki climbed back onto the roof, facing away from the arena, looking out over the countryside beyond the fortress and the town.

"You came for me," Loki said quietly.

"Of course I did. Surely you knew that I would."

"You're an idiot. You could have been killed. We both could be dead right now."

"I know. I know, I'm sorry. I was trying to catch up before you ended up here and then... Then I was here and I knew I just had to stay alive until Sif and the others could arrive."

Loki nodded, gazing out into the middle distance.

"I'm sorry I let him touch me," he whispered. "I... I didn't want to..."

Thor took his hand immediately. How could he even think such a thing? They said that trauma could make you illogical and it seemed that was true. He needed reassurance.

"Loki, all I care about is that you're here with me. Nothing else. We're both here, we're both alive. That's all that matters."

"He made me spill though. I tried not to..."

"I don't care. That's just bodies. You didn't want it, but you had to stay alive. It's not your fault."

They were battered and bruised, holding each other. It had been a matter of days and yet so much had changed.

"We'll get through this together," Thor said.

"We should... go help."

"Mm. In a moment."

It was rather more than that, watching clouds gather, finally giving way to torrential rain. Even then, they didn't move, letting the water rinse away some of the last few days.

Not all of it, of course. That would be impossible. But a little. Thor rested his head against Loki's, feeling very tired. It had been a long, long day.

"Um," said a voice behind them. "Sorry to interrupt but Sif says dinner's ready."

Yes. Yes, that was a good idea.

Thor's muscles ached, a lot of strain and then sitting still conspiring against him. Loki helped him up, the two of them hobbling down to the great hall.

There had been a lot of work done. The couches were still there but so were a variety of tables, taken from all over the palace. The draped guests sat side by side with guards and nervous people, the liberated prisoners. And the kitchens had clearly simply stepped up, bowls of food being passed down the lines.

Sif saluted seemingly out of habit.

"There's been some reorganisation," she said, possibly understating things somewhat. "People out of cells, people into cells awaiting trial, people in off the streets outside, some light looting but, well, I figured the palace owner isn't coming back to claim it."

"Topaz?"

"Turns out the Grand Master wasn't certain of her loyalty. There was already a secret cell prepared for her, all wood, even the lock."

Despite everything, Thor felt a little pang of pity.

"What a shame," he said. "To give so much to someone who didn't trust you."

"With all due respect, you accused me of betrayal only a few days ago."

It seemed like a lifetime had passed since then.

"That was a momentary lapse in judgment during extreme stress for which I am profoundly sorry," Thor said.

"I know. But I reserve the right to remind you of it at choice moments."

That seemed fair. They ended up sitting at the top table, chairs conspicuously left empty for them, food pressed into their hands.

People kept nodding at him. Waving. Looking on warily. Thor could understand that at least. A regime falling always led to uncertainty, sometimes to more trouble. And beyond that, some of the people they were freeing would be traumatised. They needed help and support to rebuild their lives.

Was he the right man to do that? He wasn't sure. He could help but...

"You spoke very passionately today," he said to Brunnhilde.

"Oh. Thank you, sire, but it was just how I felt."

"Have you ever thought about being in charge?"

She blinked in surprise, her cheeks darkening a little.

"I'm... I'm not sure I..."

"Think about it. This is your home, or it was. If you want to come back to Asgard, you can, but I can't think of anyone who could help this place better than you."

She spent the rest of dinner in quiet thought, but maybe there were ideas blossoming in her mind too.


	34. Chapter 34

It didn't seem to matter what Brunnhilde thought. Everyone deferred to her. Thor didn't feel he knew enough about Sakaar to make decisions and while he'd advise generally, the specifics were better from someone who actually lived here.

Once things had calmed down a little - rather quickly from what Thor could tell, quicker than he expected anyway - Sif rallied her troops and began the walk back to Asgard. Korg went with her, reasoning that he had no family left and that his skills were novel to Asgard.

"It's a useful exchange," he said. "Maybe I'll come back one day, when I've learned some new techniques."

Mantis went too. It seemed the two of them had formed a friendship on the stairs.

"I did terrible things," she said when she came to Thor to ask his permission, no matter how vehemently he insisted that it was unneccesary. "I put people to sleep so they weren't conscious as they were murdered."

"You would have been killed if you didn't," Thor pointed out. "It's complicated."

"Korg thinks I could help him. He has ideas for better treatments, ways that I can use my powers to help people. And I... I think I'd like to see other lands. I'd like to see an ocean and a mountain and a forest. I've read about them, but never seen them."

"What about your family?"

She shook her head sadly.

"I'm a lot older than I look. The Grand Master kept me as I am for more than sixty years. My siblings will be grown up and scattered. They have mourned me long ago. I don't want to trouble them."

Thor hadn't expected that. It made sense though for very useful people to be kept alive.

"Doesn't bother you to give up eternal youth?" he asked, half joking.

"No," she said. "Not at all. I want to live. I want to be free. I want to make friends and laugh and feel the sun on my skin. I want to see lines grow by my eyes and on my forehead and know they come from a life, not just an existence. And I want to help people."

Thor was only too glad to invite her to Asgard for as long as she chose.

In the end, it was just him and Loki, wanting desperately to go home but not wanting to leave Brunnhilde until she felt ready, even if it felt like that would never be the case.

"I just..." she sighed when he made a gentle suggestion that they might leave soon. "I don't know if I'm the right person. I mean, I followed orders for years. I took people prisoner, I took them to be killed."

"But now you can make things better. You can change it. And I'll always be available for advice if you need it."

It wouldn't be easy, but he was confident that she could handle it. Already she was making decisions about finding out exactly what was going on beyond the capital's walls, finding out how many people lived in Sakaar and how they might become more of a community rather than forgotten souls ignored by their government.

Thinking of which...

"There's someone we need to meet with on the way," Thor said as they readied his horse. "Someone who gave me shelter on the road."

He made sure to take a little extra food as a gift.

Loki claimed that he didn't know how to ride, sitting in front of Thor on the saddle. Whether it was strictly true or whether he just wanted the reassurance of being close, Thor wasn't quite sure.

He'd become rather attached since everything had happened, even more so than usual, keeping Thor firmly within arm's reach. Not that Thor was complaining. He had a couple of nights where he woke in a panic, reassured to find Loki cuddled up to him, sleeping soundly.

And it wasn't exactly unpleasant to have his arms bracketing his love as they cantered out of town and into the countryside, the time passing far faster than it had seemed on his journey here.

He slowed the horse to a walk, returning to that little tumbledown house, jumping down and taking out a parcel from the pack.

"I'll just be moment," he said, knocking on the door.

It creaked open, those suspicious eyes peering out.

"Still alive."

"Just about," Thor said. "I've brought you a little something to thank you for letting me stay. It's not much, but..."

Knarled hands reached out to take it from him, excitedly unwrapping a loaf of bread, some chicken and even a sweet cake.

"Much obliged," they said. "Much obliged. And well done."

Thor still felt a little odd about it. He'd walked into another land and caused all sorts of chaos. All the same, most people seemed to support him.

"Thank you," he said. "We'd best get home."

He'd wanted to do the whole thing in one go, but when Loki's head started to loll a little he decided it might be better to stop and camp out as best they could, sharing body heat beneath his cloak, the horse snuffling a little nearby.

He was almost asleep when he heard Loki murmur something to him.

"Mmph?"

"You haven't touched me since it happened."

Thor's first thought was to insist that he was touching him right now, but he knew what he was getting at.

"I wanted to wait until you were ready."

"So it's not because you..."

He waited for Loki to continue, but he seemed to have trailed off.

"What?"

"It's not because you don't want to?"

He'd said it in the smallest voice, Thor's heart breaking to hear it, pulling him into his arms all the tighter.

"Of course I want to," he said. "But I don't want you to feel any pressure either."

"But what if you wait too long and I die and that's the last sexual experience I ever have?"

He couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright," he said. "Tomorrow when we get home, we can take a bath and then I will do my level best to show you just how desirable you are."

A little tension left Loki's body.

"Alright," he said. "But not right now. I'm tired."

Not too tired for neck kisses though.


	35. Chapter 35

"Welcome home, your majesty," Sif said. "I know you weren't gone for long, but there are a few things that could use your attention."

"How urgently?"

"Well, fairly soon, but I suppose if you want to rest after your journey..."

"Yes," Thor said. "A bath and a rest."

"A long rest," Loki said.

"I'll have hot water sent up," Sif said. "It's been... quite an ordeal. I'm sure everyone will understand."

"How much do they know?" Thor asked.

"Well, they know that there was a kidnapping and you went alone to defend us with support following afterwards and that after a hard-fought battle you killed a tyrant. I may have left out a few things here and there, but the gist is there."

It was enough. Thor was glad to be back in his own rooms, steaming water being poured for them, peeling off his clothes.

His mind was drawn back to the last time they'd shared a bath as he eased his aching flesh into the gloriously warm water. They'd had no idea just what was coming for them, ironically enough.

He wasn't sure if Loki was thinking of it too. What had they been talking about? Maybe about whether he wanted tutors or something?

It could have been a lifetime ago.

Still, some things didn't change. The sound Loki made as he submerged himself was just as enticing as ever, a sort of sigh that went directly to some primal part of Thor's brain.

Right. Proving that he still felt exactly that way. Probably always would. The obvious aesthetics were part of it, but it was all tangled up in affection for this strange, clever, magical man that he'd found in a cave all alone. A man who just wanted to learn. Just wanted to be loved. And had been lucky enough to meet someone - albiet under less-than-ideal circumstances - who felt that for him.

When they were old and forgetful, he'd probably feel the same. He certainly hoped so.

Thor waded across the short distance between them, pulling Loki into his arms, running his hands over his body. He'd have a proper look soon enough, but for now he couldn't feel anything concerning. Bruises would fade, at least.

Clearly thinking on the same lines, Loki ran his finger along the scar on Thor's arm, still red but at least beginning to heal.

"You went through so much for me," he murmured.

"You went through worse," Thor said.

"I..." he sighed. "I will need time to deal with that, I think. Can we pretend it never happened?"

Thor hesitated.

"I'm not sure that's wise," he said. "I don't want you to bottle it up too much. But for now, I can try to put it out of your mind, if that's what you want."

"That sounds exactly like what I want."

Thor reached for the soap, lathering it up.

"Sit on the side for me, darling," he said.

With some effort and confusion, Loki hauled himself out of the water, blushing lightly as Thor took hold of one slender ankle and began washing from the toes upwards, massaging his calf, being careful with the ticklish skin at the back of his knee, up his thigh.

Loki let out a strange little hum, spreading his legs in a manner that Thor found very enticing but which was not quite his current purpose, starting on the other leg and then up to his body.

Maybe he was paying a little more attention to Loki's nipples than was strictly necessary, but how could he resist those sounds? The sharp intake of breath, the subtle way his eyes darkened.

Loki wrapped his arms around him, letting himself be lifted, soap spreading across the surface of the water, Thor finally submitting to kisses. Warm and soft, but yearning too.

"Touch me," Loki breathed. "I want you."

No oil yet, so there were limits, but Thor ran his fingers over Loki's hole, hearing him sigh happily, circling that tight muscle, helping him relax enough to try his smallest finger. Just the one joint, just a little intrusion. Still trying to take things slow. Trying to keep control of his own arousal.

He practically yelped when Loki reached down, just brushing against his cock but enough to make him feel a jolt of desire.

"Mm," Loki said, managing something more like a stroke. "Is that for me?"

"Do you want it?"

A bitten lip, a nod, so beautiful. Thor moved his finger just a little, just to feel his muscles clench.

"Tell me."

"I want it. Please. I need to feel you."

As if he could resist much longer. With a final kiss, Thor helped him out of the bath, even drying him, hoping he realised just how loved and precious he was, taking his hand to lead him to the bed. Their bed. Laying him on it so his wet hair spread over the pillow.

"How do you want this?"

"Now..."

Thor chuckled.

"Yes, darling, I know, I meant which way?"

Loki stretched luxuriously, half hard and beautiful.

"Like this," he said. "Just like this."

Thor retrieved the oil from beside the bed, pouring it from a height onto Loki's skin, making him shine and squeal.

"It's freezing!"

"Don't worry," Thor said, running his fingers through it, collecting a generous amount. "I'm going to warm you up."

He was practically licking his lips at the sight of Loki's opening, slightly relaxed from the bath, glistening with oil as he eased his index finger into tight, firm heat.

"How's that?" he asked.

"A good start," Loki said.

Thor took his time. No rush at all. He waited until there was no remaining resistance before adding a second finger, getting oil all over the bed, finding that special spot inside just to make Loki keen and moan.

"Ooh... Mm, Thor..."

"Yes?"

"Please..."

Alright, maybe they'd waited long enough. He crawled between Loki's legs, finding himself gripped by those perfect thighs, leaning in for more kisses before he took a grip of himself and began pressing inside.


	36. Chapter 36

Loki gasped and sighed despite all his preparations, his chest heaving, clutching at Thor's arms.

"Are you alright?" Thor asked.

"Oh, I missed this."

He couldn't help laughing, rolling his hips just a little. Gently, letting them both adjust.

"It was only a week or so," he said. "Are you truly so addicted?"

"The first time," Loki breathed. "Mm... The first time, you were so uncaring but it felt so good. And now... Now there's more..."

Thor knew exactly what he meant. They knew each other's bodies, knew each other so well now. It felt different. And maybe that was just familiarity or maybe it was emotions - either way, it was unmistakable.

"I thought myself very lucky to have the chance to impress such a witty beauty," he said. "Still do."

"I lay on that soft bed, so strange and different to everything I'd ever known, and I... I hoped you'd decide to keep me."

Thor's heart was almost bursting, imagining it, how neither of them had realised what had begun that night. He leant forward for kisses, such a simple, familiar action meaning so much.

He'd almost lost this. If he hadn't arrived when he did, if the fight had gone a different way, a million little things that could have changed everything. And knowing little snips of the future hadn't helped at all really.

Sometimes all the clues in the world couldn't help you. But that was alright. They had each other after all.

The sensation of Loki's moans against his lips was delicious, but he needed more air, almost light-headed, breaking their kiss to keep up his rhythm, feeling Loki's nails dig into his back. Clinging to him, like he wanted to be even closer.

"I love you," Thor managed to pant, seeing Loki smile and arch his back, trying to reach down between them.

Thor had no intention of making him do it himself, sitting up enough to take his cock in hand, stroking hard, watching as Loki gasped and keened and his eyes began to roll.

Just a little more...

"A corridor," Loki said, muscles twitching beneath him. "You're hiding, sneaking. I'm... Ah! I'm at the end of it, you're coming to surprise me... Oh, Thor..."

It was too much. He seemed to have climaxed for a long time, ripples pulsing through his body, overwhelming Thor with pleasure, moaning as he spilled too. No extra help needed.

Loki came back to himself, out of breath and beaming at him.

"What?" Thor laughed, pulling him into his arms for much-needed cuddles.

"You finally did it," he said. "Even though I was in my trance."

Yes, he had. Somehow, after all they'd been through, the visions didn't scare him anymore. They were just part of Loki, the man he loved.

"I've got used to it," he said, aware that he was blushing a little bit. "What's all this about a corridor?"

"Mmm," Loki hummed. "I'm not really sure. It was here in the palace. You were feeling very pleased with yourself. And very loving. I think I was having some kind of tutorage and you were bringing me something. A surprise."

"What?"

"Well, if I knew, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

Thor chuckled, wondering what in the world it could be.

"I'll have to be very discreet then," he said. "Minimise the chances of you seeing it."

"No doubt the reason you're feeling quite so smug, managing to keep it from me. But mostly... Mostly you were excited. It's... It's nice to know how you feel, more than I already do."

"Can't lie to you, darling."

"No. But I don't think you would want to anyway."

Maybe not.

They did actually have the rest they'd claimed they needed but eventually duty called. Thor had a lot to sort out.

Like getting Loki something to make his position as Thor's right hand clear.

Maybe some kind of crown...

He smiled to himself as Sif took him through all he'd missed in his few days away, only mostly paying attention. Such a fine piece of jewellery would be difficult to commission and have made under Loki's nose, especially when any orgasm could tip him off. He'd have to be very careful.

But Thor had always liked a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there we go. I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Hopefully I'll be back soon. I have a little bit of an idea for another story, but who knows if it will work?
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and for all your encouragement. I really do appreciate it.


End file.
